THERE BE DRAGONS!
by ULYFERAL
Summary: Do dragons truly exist? It appears they do and are living in hiding among Katkind even now.
1. Chapter 1

**THERE BE DRAGONS!**

**Chapter 1: Prologue: Fact or Fiction?**

Around the beginning of the 1900's, during an excavation across the world from Megakat City, an archaeology team from the Tymurr Federation made an exciting discovery. The buried city was older than any found on Aristal. It showed an ancient civilization that was very advanced, using an interesting mix of technology and magic. What captured the scientists interest the most was the depiction of mythical dragons throughout the ruins in huge renditions of stone and in frescoes on many prominent buildings.

While the rest of the world was embroiled in a world war, the archaeology team did all they could to protect their incredible find. They went so far as to hide the city behind an earthen wall which was very successful.

They were able to work undisturbed for many years, uncovering building after building of this magnificent city state. Around 1959, Professor Lyonese discovered a room that looked like a lab of some type. Strange large eggs had been discovered but what creatures laid them was unknown even after many more years of research.

Many of the fascinating artifacts as well as some of the eggs were sent to many museums for their research, display and to provide much needed funds to the archaeology teams that would allow them to continue their work.

The Dragon Displays, as they were soon called, drew large crowds wherever they were seen. In a few of the cities, some of the artifacts had become the victims of thieves. What was taken were some of the eggs, jewelry, pottery, and dragon images. Most had been recovered except for the eggs, strangely enough.

The loss of the eggs had grown into a legend of mythic proportions. Instead of thieves taking the eggs from their displays, fanciful minds came up with stories about dragons hatching from the eggs and being seen. The stories were so prevalent, that many more sightings of dragons was reported over the years though none of the sightings could ever be proven. Because of this, many still treated dragons as a fanciful myth.

As decades past and the archaeological site had completely uncovered the city, much had been learned but there was still much to study and uncover. Few ancient sites yielded as much data and continued interest as the Draconian City State of Emperor Trimoon.

As the 20th century began, the interest in dragons waned a bit. New scientific inventions were being developed and marketed that took the public's attention off such mythical creatures as dragons.

No modern Kat believed the possibility of real dragons existing. They especially disbelieved the stories coming out of the archaeological site where the reports of Kats turning into dragons or dragons turning into Kats, were being presented as fact based on what they had found in the ancient city. Of course, the information was dependent on who was doing the translating of the data left by those ancient Kats and how accurate they were in translating it.

Still, after this new tidbit was released to the public, dragons once more held the fascination of Kats of all ages and it wasn't surprising for them to want to read, write, paint, or make figures of dragons. By the waning of the century, interest in the great city of the dragons was enjoying a renaissance. Visitors began to visit the Dragon Displays once more in droves.

Megakat City, under nearly constant threat of attack by omegas for the past decade, had the advantage of seeing and actually enduring an attack by real dragons. Unfortunately, the beasts were far too dangerous and aggressive to be allowed to live and were destroyed every time they made an appearance.

But despite them having to be killed, the scientists found the dead bodies to be a treasure trove of information. They would thoroughly map the bodies before they decomposed adding to the wealth of data already on file about these creatures. The most amazing thing the scientists learned was the Pastmaster's dragons weren't magical constructs as they had first thought but real living dragons.

Further research found these dragons were genetic matches to the ones found in the ancient city. This new information stirred up an anthill of enthusiasm and debate among the scientific community that perhaps the creatures weren't mythical after all but actual living creatures that were now extinct. Even the doubting Thomas' were beginning to believe.

To draw more attention to dragons and garner more money for further research, Megakat City scientists managed to preserve one of the dragons that had attacked the city and mount it in the Megakat Natural History Museum.

Once word got out about the display of a real dragon, the city was inundated with visitors willing to brave the dangers of this benighted city for the opportunity to see a real dragon. The city's Mayor was very pleased by this sudden influx of visitors as it helped the flagging economy that was struggling under the weight of red ink due to the constant need to repair the damage wrought by its enemies.

The atmosphere was ripe for the appearance of a once proud race that had been reduced to hiding itself in a form that was accepted foregoing their true form to survive. They had waited and watched for centuries, hoping and praying for a time when they could be truly free once more.

Perhaps the time had finally arrived for dragons to dare coming out of hiding at last!


	2. Chapter 2

**THERE BE DRAGONS!**

**Chapter 2: Should We or Shouldn't We? **

The red dragon was beginning to get a headache. For the past four hours the dragons of his community argued about whether it was time to reveal themselves or not. The more fearful of the lot were the loudest dissenters and it was really teeing him off.

Finally fed up he let out a huge roar that shook their hidden citadel. The room went instantly silent. Looks of annoyance, anger, fear, and astonishment were directed his way.

"Look! I am the most familiar with how this city reacts to the unusual and I say, the kats living here can and will accept us more readily than anywhere else and furthermore, their acceptance will help other countries learn to accept us as well," he insisted.

"And just what makes you think they will do that? All these fool Kats have seen is a rampaging dragon brought from the past by that creature the Pastmaster. That is all they will think we are," one of the elder dragons snarled belligerently.

"That's because the scientists at our ancient city hasn't published anything new about their findings for more than a decade. People forget, so many don't even remember the ancient city had been found in the first place. Then there's the fact this city's scientists have only just learned that the dragons the Pastmaster brought here were actually real and informed the public of that fact," he explained.

"So what? What difference does that make on whether Kats will accept us or not," another voice rang out.

"I firmly believe when both sets of scientists get together and publish their findings, people around the world will remember again that a dragon society had existed in ancient times with a whole city found in the Tymurr Federation then add the recent findings that the dragons the Pastmaster brought here were indeed real, they will finally believe dragons did and perhaps do still exist. This will refresh the Kats flagging memories. Remember, they aren't a long lived species and, unless important information is kept active they simply forget it in the day to day needs of living," Adair said reasonably.

"The problem we have to solve now is the obvious confusion that will occur once that information comes out and that is reconciling information about the real evidence of an advanced society against the utterly animalistic behavior of the Pastmaster's dragons. To try and clear that up, I propose we trust our secret with one scientist and have them bring together the two parties and show them a real, intelligent dragon that could answer all their questions. They in turn would publish their papers with the proof which would reach the public. With this learned backing, we would succeed in letting Kats know we live among them and are definitely not animals," the red dragon suggested persuasively.

"Oh...right...like that will truly work! Scientists are notoriously clannish and not all will believe despite the evidence. How will one scientist succeed in getting them to even listen to them?" Another dragon scoffed derisively.

"If they are a highly respected and experienced at dealing with the weird kind of scientist, they will. We are fortunate to have such a person available. This person and another in a more military position have had to remain open minded because of all the strange things they are forced to acknowledge exist due to the many incredible accidents and deliberate aberrations that the city's enemies keep throwing at them and these two often had to provide solutions for getting rid of the problems," the red dragon countered back.

"Who would they be?" One of the elders asked sourly.

"Dr. Abi Sinian, curator of the Megakat Natural History Museum is one." Silence met that information. The red dragon continued, "I know her well and she would be the perfect one to know the truth and the most honest scientist I know. The other is Dr. Konway, Director of the Enforcer Biotech Labs. He was the one who had to come up with a way to reverse Dr. Viper's swamp creatures back to the harmless animals they once were. Both would take the information we give them and see that it got into the correct paws and be disseminated quickly, though I would strongly suggest Dr. Sinian as the best choice for this task."

There were still grumbles of unhappiness. The red dragon sighed and played his last card.

"There's one more thing to remember. Kat kind is now a very technological society. Their planes, choppers, and modern security devices will eventually uncover our existence. It's only a matter of time. It's better if we come forward in our own time rather than be forcibly exposed by them," he added grimly.

Fear flashed around the room. Many of them did indeed know that hiding might become impossible very soon at the rate Katkind was progressing and none wanted to think about that. But the more level headed of them had thoughtful looks on their faces.

It was they who began another round of deliberations, this time emphasizing the danger if they delayed revealing themselves any longer. Pros and cons were weighed but by the end of another two hours, there was only one response they could come to though there were still those that refused to believe it was necessary. The most elder of them all called for a vote after asking one important question first.

"Are you volunteering to be revealed, Adair?"

"Yes, I am. I feel strongly that our time has finally arrived and I trust Dr. Sinian explicitly with our secret," the red dragon, named Adair, declared firmly.

The elder dragon glanced over at his peers, all over a couple of centuries old, and gave them a questioningly look. A few appeared to be considering the offer while a couple more were plainly dead set against it.

Sighing, he turned his attention to the more younger adults, a hundred or so years old (those under a hundred were hatchlings and not allowed to vote), noting their enthusiasm for the idea with only a few fearful and unwilling to go along with it.

Being the oldest (over 800), the others were more willing to follow his lead though there was no true leader. They once had a monarchy but that fell out of favor when they went underground. In its place, they had decided to use the more democratic system of majority rule to decide important matters that way all could feel their opinions counted.

"I think it's time to cast a vote to see how many feel Adair's plan, to inform the public through the auspices of the scientific community about our existence and abide by the results, should now be allowed to proceed. All those in agreement...," he called out.

A forest of clawed fists were raised in the air. His mate, who was younger by over three hundred years, counted for him as his eyes were failing.

"One hundred twenty-four!" His mate called out.

"All those opposed...," the elder barked.

Minutes later his mate crowed (for he had voted yes), "fifty seven opposed, the ayes have it."

The room filled with rumbles of relief as well as unhappiness. The elder allowed them to vent for several minutes before signaling his mate to bring the room to order once more. The blue dragon roared and belched flame toward the ceiling.

The crowd silenced and turned their attention to the elder again.

"The plan has been approved. So those who are unhappy...accept it and move on!" He declared firmly then turned to Adair. "Go tell this scientist you trust so well and may the Gods of Wind and Fire protect you and grant you success in your endeavor to free us from fear and the onus of hiding who we truly are."

"I will do all I can to make this work, Trimaris," Adair promised solemnly then made his way out of the chamber.

Walking through the citadel he soon arrived at a long hall that inclined upward and ended at a heavy door. The hall was kept dark deliberately so that light from within could not be seen outside when the door was opened. His dragon eyes could see where he was going easily as he reached the door and opened it. Outside no one could tell a door was there since it had been cleverly disguised to look like the mountain side.

Peering out with the door opened only a small ways, he checked for any flying craft nearby and saw none. Stepping out, he let the door silently close behind him then took wing, flying home under a moonless sky lit only by starlight. Their meetings were always held in the dead of night but this meeting had run a long time and dawn was not far off.

Those leaving after him waited fifteen minutes and each other so that none flew out in a group except for those caring for hatchlings, the danger was far too great. Soon the only ones remaining in the chamber were a few elders who lived at the citadel and no longer took Kat form. They stayed and enjoyed the warmth of the chamber which eased old bones. The eldest of them all cuddled with his mate and ruminated on the decision made tonight. He hoped they were going in the right direction...but he also felt there was no longer any choice.

Their citadel was hidden in the high mountains north of Megakat City, buried deep enough to put them close to the volcanic rivers that ran beneath it. The hot lava kept their citadel warm and toasty. Their home had been patiently and meticulously carved from the solid rock over many years making a warren of living and working spaces as well as storage areas. Artisans among them painted huge frescoes depicting the lives they had lived before being forced to retreat into hiding all throughout the huge citadel but the most beautiful had been done in the central chamber.

There were laboratories where their scientists worked on interesting inventions and researched things to enhance or make better their lives. Located near the top of the mountain and where sunlight had been allowed to filter in through small holes then using mirrors they drew that sunlight down to shine on a huge area designated as their combination hydroponic garden and live food pens that fed the community. They even had a medical center that handled their needs. Power was obtained by harnessing the winds, sun and lava flows to provide light and energy. Kat kind would be shocked and surprised at just how modern and advanced Dragon kind were.

The chamber was where they held their meetings as well as socialized at was located at the very heart of the mountain. It had been carved in the form of a circle and had seating of stone that went halfway up the walls of the room. They were wide enough to allow the dragons to sit or lay and above them were the spectacular frescoes. There were over six doors leading in and out of the place.

In center of the floor in the chamber a huge circular pool some ten feet wide and made of royal blue tiles had been built. Water for it was circulated up from a deep artesian well which passed through a lava tube that warmed it before bubbling up through the mouth of a beautifully carved statue in the center of the pool done in clear Agracite of a dragon in flight. The water would cascade down providing a soothing back drop to the meeting place. Many of the community could be found here at any time of day enjoying the mineralized water then move to the stone seats to dry and preen.

Similar citadels existed around the world where dragon kind lived or hid when necessary. A small handful of each community lived within the citadels year round while others lived among Katkind and had homes of their own.

Besides their citadels, dragon kind further ensured their safety by never revealing who they were as Kats to each other. This was so none of them could betray each other in a fit of anger, jealousy, fear, or insanity. Though Katkind had heard rumors of their existence from the accidental incidents of bad behavior, the dragon at fault was quickly dealt with before anyone could investigate the truth of the matter.

This method had succeeded in keeping them safe over the centuries, however, nowadays, it was more of a detriment because it also kept them from finding each other when in need and especially those who had hidden themselves from their own race besides Katkind. These hidden ones made it impossible for the dragon council to know exactly how many of their brethren were living in a particular city or country.

These dragons sought no company but their own families because depredations by Kat Hunters had killed and terrorized them in the past leaving them with fear and mistrust of Kat kind and other dragons outside their family unit. So traumatized were these hidden as they were called, they raised their offspring to trust no one outside the family and especially to other dragons. They went so far as to forbid their hatchlings to ever alter to their dragon form at all.

So these offspring had no idea there were communities of dragons existing nor a citadel hideaway where they could seek shelter, were ignorant of the number of dragons in their own area that they could seek advice or help from, nor that there were councils that held jurisdiction over them and made decisions that affected them all.

This fact was true of one particular dragon holding an important position in Megakat City. His family had been wiped out a few at a time until there were none but him left. This had taught more than anything else to obey the lessons of his father and grandfather and never took his dragon form his whole life. He had only been seventy years old when he was orphaned. Despite the grave risks of being so very young in dragon years and alone, he managed to learn how to live in Kat society without any guidance for the next twenty years.

So when the recent fervor by the public for all things dragon began to permeate the news, the hatchling was understandably uneasy. He'd seen this kind of interest over his lifetime but it had waned like many other things that had caught the interest of a society, that is, until the discovery the dragons the Pastmaster had brought from the past were proven to be very real. This inflamed the public's interest to a fever pitch, especially after the museum mounted the one intact dragon of the Pastmaster's and put it on exhibit. Now the word dragon was on the lips of nearly every Kat out there making him feel unaccountably tense and afraid.

Even though there was no way anyone could tell he was a dragon, he was still nervous around all the hoopla. He did everything he could to avoid the fervor surrounding the subject and just did the job he'd been doing for the past twenty years and enjoyed very much while trying to keep a low profile.

Tonight those fears had reared their ugly head and had ruined his sleep. He stood on the balcony of his apartment and stared out into the night. He'd been stewing for more than an hour and even though he was tired, he couldn't get his mind to shut up and let him sleep.

He was about to turn and go back inside with the thought of making himself some warm milk when he caught sight of something flying through the night sky. It could only be seen as a huge form against the starlit sky but its shape sent shock waves through him. It was the unmistakable form of a dragon. He stared at it in horror and fascination as it soared on the night winds turning south of the city then dipping out of sight behind some buildings. He stood there for minutes after, breathing hard.

The sight of another dragon did funny things to his insides...his heart was in his throat and was beating frantically and he felt shaky and sad...a deep bitter longing for the sky, denied him all his life beat at him. Never to have felt the wind under his wings and to feel the freedom to float on the thermal currents as this dragon did with ease sent his heart clenching with envy and anguish. He thought he'd beaten that intense longing for the sky out of his system but obviously not as the ache was still firmly there. Loneliness and a deep desire for his own kind sang through him as he violently turned away and stumbled blindly to his bedroom to fall on his bed and cry for what he'd lost in his life.

Jake Clawson sighed as he floated down, landing in the salvage yard lightly, his clawed feet making little sound as he hit the ground. Folding his wings, he walked toward the door of the garage, allowing his Kat form to replace his dragon persona without much conscious thought...the change so much a part of him...like breathing.

He disengaged the security system then unlocked the door, pulling it open quietly. Stepping inside, he relocked the door and reset the security system then headed silently upstairs to the apartment he shared with his Kat partner.

Stepping into his bedroom, he shut the door quietly behind him then stripped off his clothes and stretched the kinks out of his body. Later this morning would be busy in the garage which would make it difficult to slip away to go to the museum to see Dr. Sinian. He would have to use the need to get a part for an old Buick waiting for repair as his way to leave without attracting his partner's curiosity.

Yawning, he slipped into bed and tried to fall sleep but his mind was far too busy. His thoughts focused a moment on what he would tell Dr. Sinian then moved onto his partner.

Chance was a real treasure and the best friend he'd ever had during this lifetime. He'd had many friends in his long life but of all of them none were like Chance Furlong. Being his partner and a SWAT Kat had been the most exciting time he could ever remember. So what would happen to his friendship if Chance learned his best friend wasn't a Kat?

That worry had plagued him for quite a while. When dragons became the topic of the newspapers and TV, he had asked Chance what he thought about it all.

"Aw, what's there to think about, buddy?" His friend had said at the time. "They are just big beasties that caused us no end of trouble."

"But, Chance...scientists have discovered that perhaps dragons were once more prevalent and even had built a city long ago. Animals couldn't have done that."

"Well no, but those were ancient dragons. The ones you and I have dealt with were definitely not intelligent and very nasty."

"Yeah, I agree with you there but what if they were damaged by the Pastmaster and were now insane. And what if dragon kind were forced to hide themselves because they were afraid of us? If they lived among us, would you still be afraid of them and try to kill them?"

Chance blinked in surprise and stared at his friend. "That's reaching even for you, Jake but...okay...for the sake of argument...say dragons were hiding among us...I'd have to meet one to come to any kind of decision about them," he said thoughtfully and honestly.

"Well, I'm glad you're open to the idea and not just close minded, buddy."

The tabby just shrugged his shoulders. "I've never taken someone at face value, Jake...at least I try not to."

That was the end of their conversation but it left Jake feeling a little better that his friend wouldn't just turn on him if he found out but it still made him nervous about telling him anyway. However, he knew he would have to very soon or Chance would feel betrayed that his best friend didn't trust him enough to have told him such a secret in the first place. He didn't want to lose the tabby's friendship...it was far too important to him.

Sighing in frustration, he beat his pillow a bit then turned on his side. He forced himself to breath deep and slow until his mind finally drifted and sleep pulled him down.


	3. Chapter 3

**THERE BE DRAGONS!**

**Chapter 3: Leaking the Truth One person at a Time**

The next morning, a very disgruntled Jake woke much later than was usual for him. He still felt a bit tired but then he would since he'd been up till nearly dawn in the first place. Sighing he shoved his bedding off and made for the bathroom.

He might have been late getting up, but Chance was still sleeping as usual by the time Jake left the bathroom and dressed for work. He paused at his friend's door.

Banging on it, he shouted, "come on, Chance....up and at 'em. We've got work to do!"

A grumbled response filtered through the door causing Jake to smile. He went on down the stairs and to the kitchen to make himself some breakfast. He was finished and setting his cereal bowl in the sink when his partner finally showed himself. Still looking sleepy, Chance went about making himself breakfast and muttered a good morning to his friend.

Jake just grinned and left him alone as he went down to the garage to open it for the day. The sun was shining through the door as Jake worked on a tuneup, one of two he needed to get done before leaving to get the part for the Buick.

Chance came in and headed for the brake job on an enforcer sedan. They worked companionably for a couple of hours before Jake finished and took the second car out into the yard then called the owners to pick up the two cars.

"Hey Chance!"

"Yeah?"

"I'm leaving now to get that part we needed. You need anything else while I'm out?"

"Uhm, why don't you pick up some lunch on your way back. That way we don't have to stop to order later."

"Sure, good idea. Hey, there are two cars I've done, whose owners will be coming by to pick up."

"Gotcha!"

Jake went into the office and grabbed the keys for the tow truck.. Before he left, however, he went back upstairs and used the other trapdoor in the kitchen to slip into the hangar. There he retrieved his SWAT Kat g-suit then went back upstairs, grabbed a paper bag and stuffed his suit into it before heading back down to the truck.

He planned on changing to Razor before slipping into the museum to see Dr. Sinian. Though he was going to give away his species, no way did he intend to give away his Kat identity as well....or at least not all of it anyway.

He drove out of the yard and headed into town to get the part first. It took only about an hour to retrieve the part, stop to pick up a pair of sub sandwiches with fixin's for lunch, then head to the heart of the city to the far side of Megakat Part where the museum was located.

Pulling into a visitor's parking lot, he grabbed his bag then climbed out. He set a sophisticated alarm on the truck before walking casually over to the museum. Before he reached the sidewalk where other Kats were mingling and heading inside he veered off toward the back of the museum using the abundant landscaping to hide himself.

Jake soon found a private area where no cameras were pointed and no people were around before changing his clothes. He hid the bag with his civilian clothing behind a thick bush then went further back behind the museum. Here he used his grappling line to scale the section of the building that housed the airplane exhibit and had a glass ceiling. He slipped through a transom window, the two of them used many times before, walked along the girders in the shadowed areas waiting for the coast to be clear below him before repelling down to the floor.

From there he hurried to Dr. Sinian's offices which were located on the third floor of the building. This floor was quieter due to it being the offices and research area of the museum. He lucked out, the doctor was in her office, drinking coffee and reading some reports on her desk.

She looked up in surprise when he stepped through her open door, closing and locking it behind him.

"Razor?"

"Hello, Dr. Sinian. I have a matter of grave importance to discuss with you and I can't have anyone interrupting. Do you have time to talk with me?"

"Oh, certainly. You're in luck, I don't have a meeting until after lunch. I'm just trying to catch up on this paperwork that always has a way of piling up whenever I'm away," she said warmly.

Razor smiled tightly, nervous butterflies swarming his belly as he prepared to give away one of his secrets. Taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly, he marshaled his thoughts for what was to come.

Abi Sinian eyed the SWAT Kat in concern. It was obvious to her that whatever Razor had to say was enough to make him extremely nervous and tense, something she rarely witnessed in the powerful defender.

"How much do you know about the ancient dragon city and the findings of the archeologists there?"

She blinked in surprise. 'What on earth did he want to know that for?' She wondered in bewilderment.

"Well, I know Dr. Farator and his team have determined the city was built by skilled artisans and the inhabitants were dragons so it's safe to assume they were intelligent creatures during that time. The debate now is do they still exist or have they reverted to mindless bestiality with the passage of time and died out. The main argument right now is, if the dragons are still around, how are they hiding themselves. It's a debate that's causing a lot of division in the scientific community between those that hold with the dragons being extinct and those that think they could still be alive and hiding somewhere," she told him candidly.

He sighed mentally. 'This was better than I'd hoped. There are actually scientists who think we're still around.' "Doc, which camp are you in?" He asked cautiously.

"Well, I believe they might be extinct, but there have been reports of sightings of them over the years. The fact the sightings still occur to this day suggests that perhaps dragons could indeed still be around but how they hide themselves is what has me on the fence," she said honestly. She tilted her head and studied her visitor. "Why the interest?"

"I can tell you how they hide themselves but I'm going to tell you a story first. Once dragons and Katkind lived in harmony. Each had their own cities and traded wares between them but as time went on, Katkind began to spread out and need more and more territory. Kats breed faster than dragon kind and soon began to push dragons out of their own territory.

Fights ensued and bitter rivalry began over water, land and food. Even though there were undiscovered lands still to be found elsewhere, the Kats living near dragon enclaves refused to seek it out. Though dragons told them they needed the hot springs and volcanoes for their well being and couldn't move, Kats refused to listen because the lands in those areas were generally warm all year round so food was plentiful as was animal life. The clashes intensified and though stronger, capable of flight, and longer lived....dragons were badly outnumbered and Kats were learning to be cunning hunters.

Soon Katkind was systematically exterminating dragons until they were fewer than a thousand of a once proud race of more than 100,000. In desperation, dragons took to hiding in places where Kats couldn't live or access but it was a harsh life and the, already low birthrate, took a devastating plunge.

To keep from dying out completely, the dragons found a way to alter their form. It took decades to accomplish but soon they were able to change their shape at will and were now able to walk among Katkind unnoticed because they looked just like their enemy. In this fashion, dragons succeeded in staying alive but it wasn't a happy life because they had lost their identity and the freedom of the skies for the sake of survival," Razor said ending his sad tale.

Dr. Sinian stared at Razor in open mouthed shock. When he had stopped speaking, she said, hesitantly, "I'm not sure how you know all this, but are you saying dragons live among us but look like Kats?"

"Yes, I am."

"Oh my! This is incredible. But how do you know this and why tell me this if it's true?" She asked in confusion and rising excitement.

"Because, Kat kind is on the verge of finding us. Modern technology will ferret us out of our hiding places very soon and we intend to reveal ourselves first before being forced out by your kind," he said grimly.

Abi went still, her eyes widened. She hadn't missed Razor's switch of pronouns. "You're a dragon?" She whispered in hushed amazement.

"Yes, I am. Your office is just large enough....watch and see!" He said solemnly as he stepped to the center of her large office and morphed to his red dragon form.

"My true name is Adair," he rumbled, his voice coming from deep in his chest.

Sinian gaped in wonder. The red dragon was tall enough to have to bend to prevent hitting the ceiling. His wings were pressed tightly to his body so he wouldn't knock anything over but she guessed them to be at least ten feet wide when spread open. His scales gleamed a deep scarlet while his chest was armored plated, colored a lighter reddish yellow. His tail was curled around his feet and had a spike at its tip. His eyes were twin jewels of ruby red and his mouth was filled with rows of sharp white teeth, a forked red tongue flickered out when he talked. Surprisingly, he had no horns but did have a thick fall of reddish brown hair that flowed from his forehead to just about three inches below his ears.

"You look amazing!" She breathed in awe.

"Thank you." He held his form for a few minutes more than morphed back to his Kat form once more.

"Why tell me?"

Razor sighed and walked over to sit on the edge of her desk. "Like I said, your race is close to discovering out last hiding place. Many of us are tired of hiding in Kat form and want the freedom to fly the skies once more. Also, more concerning to us is the loss of some of our people due to fear. They have made the decision to never take their dragon form again and in some cases, divorcing themselves completely from dragon kind. This division can only hasten our demise. We must act now to save our kind or we will be nothing more than a myth Katkind thinks we are already," he said grimly.

"We of the Megakat City tribe, feel revealing ourselves here will be more successful than anywhere else due to the public's ability to accept and deal with all the bizarre things that have gone on here for more than a decade. After all, if the Katizens here can handle seeing walking mushrooms, mummies, and dinosaurs, with such aplomb then they should be able to handle real dragons. If acceptance is made here, then other countries will try next," Razor said, a small sound of hope in his voice.

"As for why we chose you......I know you and trust your integrity. We want you to 'leak' our existence to the scientific population and, hopefully, they in turn will publish the truth so the public will know as well. When enough data has been leaked out, only then will we begin to show ourselves," he said, laying their case before her.

"Oh my......that is a lot of responsibility you are laying on me. I'm honored you think so highly of me and trust me but I'm not so sure Katkind could be trusted not to finish the job of exterminating you," she said unhappily.

Razor grimaced and spread his paws wide. "Then what would you have us do, doctor? We're vanishing because of fear already."

She sighed and shook her head. "It's a very nasty position your kind is in and you are right, delay will only cost you even more of who you are. So I'm guessing you're willing to risk being hunted again than stay invisible any longer?"

"A grim way to put it but....yes."

"Then I can do no less than to aid you and pray your kind will be allowed to flourish once more. I grieve for the loss of even one more of your kind. I promise to do the best I can for you."

Razor sighed and gave her a wane smile of gratitude. "Thank you. We will do this gradually so as not to shock the public too much but since they are already hyped up about the dragon exhibits, they should accept this news more readily than if they had to receive it cold."

"You're right about that. So, how do you propose we do this? The scientific community respects me but even so, they must have absolute proof to even begin believing what I'm telling them," she said honestly.

"Yes, I understand that, however, I'm not in a hurry for others to know that I'm a dragon. My reputation as a vigilante could cause damage to the image we're trying to convey about my race. We don't need it muddied by my dual identity."

"That' very true, unfortunately. Then how do you expect me to convince my colleagues?"

"I only meant your colleagues could not know I'm Razor but if you display me in my form as Adair, they don't need to know who I am in my Kat form."

"Well, that could work, I suppose, however, there will be ones who will refuse to believe you can take a Kat form," she worried.

Razor sighed "Then I'll have to wear some kind of different disguise to hide my identity. Either way, who I am will be protected. Even if one of my fellow dragons were willing to reveal themselves, they too would not give away their last form of protection, that being their Kat identity."

"I understand completely. However, for this to work the way you need it to, you will have to plan on hiding your identity some way because only changing from Kat to dragon and back will impress the ones we are trying to convince," Abi told him, hating that it was true.

"Yeah, I guess you're right about that, alright, disguised I will be then. So how are you going to do this?"

"I will invite the scientists I know are involved with the dragon project to come and see a real dragon. None will be able to resist coming, if only to try to discredit me for daring to make such a claim," she smirked at him.

Razor had to smile. "Very good. I like it. How soon can you get this done?"

"Well, I'll have to send wires to those further away and it will take them time to get here. I'm afraid it will take a few weeks. I'll notify you when I've been able to set a date, alright?" She asked, making notes on a notepad. She reached for a digital camera on her desk. "One more thing will convince them to come even faster......a picture of you."

Razor's mouth opened to object then snapped it shut. Of course she would need a 'carrot' to lure her fellow scientists in. Rolling his eyes, he obliged by stepping back to the middle of the room and taking his true form again. Dr. Sinian took three pics and nodded her satisfaction.

"I'll make this a priority and get our plan into motion immediately," she said distractedly as her mind worked out the things she needed to accomplish.

"Thank you again, doc. I'll be waiting for word from you. Here's a signaler. Use it only when you're ready for me to make my appearance." Razor handed her one of their special communicators then made for the office door. "See you soon."

"You too, Razor and please be careful."

"I always try to doc." With that, Razor unlocked the door and slipped off in the direction he had come. Soon he was swiftly changing his clothes then walking innocently out to his truck.


	4. Chapter 4

**THERE BE DRAGONS!**

**Chapter 4: Making Believers**

For more than two and half weeks, nothing seemed to be happening about the reveal. Jake was becoming concerned and he had already been asked by the eldest what was going on. All he could tell him was it took time to gather the scientists in one place. Trimaris eyed Adair thoughtfully then nodded and dropped the subject.

By the time the third week ended, Jake was about to get back with Dr. Sinian on what was going on. He had curbed his impatience over the long wait and never made contact with her but he was really becoming concerned so was very relieved when he finally received the awaited summons to appear at the museum.

He had chosen his disguise very carefully and had his excuse to Chance about his absence, ready. Thankfully when the summons came, it was one of those quiet days where they had few cars and could relax.

When his signaler buzzed silently in his pocket, he was sitting on the ratty over stuffed chair reading a technical journal while Chance was watching his favorite cartoon. He reached into his pocket and carefully pressed the acknowledgment button then shut off the device. Casually, closing his magazine, he stretched then got up.

"Hey buddy, I've got a friend to meet down town. Call me if you need me," he said easily.

Chance looked up at him in surprise for a moment but then just nodded, "sure buddy, see you later. Have fun!"

"We're only going to trade new tech info," Jake said, pretending amusement.

Chance grimaced at that. "Well have fun anyway," he snorted then returned to his cartoon.

Sighing mentally, pleased his subterfuge had worked so easily, Jake left the living area for his bedroom. There he retrieved the backpack he had previously prepared, pulled his jacket on then went back through the living area, waving bye to his friend, who never looked his way when he returned the farewell, before heading down the stairs for the garage.

Grabbing the truck keys, he went outside and was soon driving to the museum. Using the same method he had before except he wasn't dressed as Razor, he went in his secret way to an empty exhibit hall which had been left unlocked just for him. He avoided anyone walking in the halls as he made his slow and cautious way there.

He sighed in relief when he made it to the door of the small exhibit hall and slipped inside. With the door closed, he flipped the hood of his black cape off his head then removed it. Walking over to a huge black stage curtain that had been hung to hide the back half of the room by Dr. Sinian, Jake stepped through the curtain opening to stand behind it. He set his hooded cloak behind him on the floor then ensured his disguise was perfect before taking his dragon form. Now all he had to do was wait.

Fortunately, it wasn't long, just ten minutes, before he heard the door open and many voices filled the air as a group of people entered the room.

"Why are you locking the door Dr. Sinian," a peevish voice asked.

"I promised our guest only you would be allowed to see him and locking the door ensures that no one else will accidentally join us," he heard her voice say quietly.

"A lot of nonsense, I say," another voice muttered not too far from the curtain.

"Thank you all for being willing to come all the way to my city. As I told you in my letters and wires, this is a very exciting and important event and you are now a part of it. Without further ado, may I please present the red dragon named Adair," Dr. Sinian said dramatically, gesturing to the curtain behind her.

Taking his cue, Adair stepped through the curtain and carefully stopped just a few steps past it. He nodded his head to the suddenly stunned and speechless group of scientists that gaped at him.

It was silent for all of two minutes before a dozen voices began to speak at the same time, many of them rude, angry, and demanding answers from Dr. Sinian. Adair sighed and shook his head.

"Excuse me, but I can answer your questions if you'll direct them to me rather than badger poor Dr. Sinian who was only helping me do this really difficult thing. Please do me the courtesy of shutting up!" He rumbled loudly to be heard over them.

The voices cut off again in shock. They had been told the dragon was intelligent but more than half of them didn't believe it and now were stunned anew by the proof speaking to them.

"That's better," Adair said in mild amusement. "Now if you'll listen, I'll tell you a story you've never heard before. Once I've finished, then you may question me." His jeweled eyes looked them over quietly to see if they would be quiet.

No one said anything, all eyes were directed at him with varying degrees of fear, fascination, anger, excitement, and amazement.

Taking their silence to mean they were going to listen, Adair told them the same story he'd told Dr. Sinian. When he finished, no one spoke for several long minutes as they absorbed this incredible information.

"You expect us to believe such a huge beast as you are can simply shrink down to the size of a Kat? That's blatantly impossible!" One brave soul finally blurted out.

Adair snorted in amusement. "Well, as a fellow scientist, I would have been just as skeptical however, I'm not just a scientist but a worker of magic and magic is how we can change shape. At least that is how it was done in the first place all those many centuries ago but as generations used this ability, it soon became something we now pass down through our genes so each generation is capable of doing this very thing without any real thought or effort."

"Prove it!" The scientist who had spoken, demanded.

"Certainly. One thing though, I'm sure Dr. Sinian has mentioned this but I'm going to repeat it so that you don't ask me about it again. For the safety of our species, no one, not even us, know each other's Kat identity. It's the last barrier we have to protect ourselves. When I alter to Kat, I will be wearing a disguise. I request you respect the need for it and not hassle me about it," Adair said smoothly.

The scientists looked at each other then back at him. No one seemed to object to that stricture so Adair morphed back to his Kat form. For the reveal, he had decided to wear a g-suit he had dyed a very deep red, wore black boots, and had a red mask that covered his head and face just like his Razor mask did. Now his long red fur practically blended into the clothes making it hard to really judge what he truly looked like.

"Holy Kats!"

"My God, that is utterly incredible!"

"I'll say! Would you change back again, please?" One of the scientists asked excitedly, taking his camera out.

Adair nodded and did as asked. In his dragon form he spread his wings so they could see how far they went when open. Camera bulbs and digitals were clicking and flashing madly for several minutes.

"Now back to your Kat form please." He was asked and obliged, feeling a little uncomfortable as they took more pictures.

"Adair, would you do it again so I can video tape the change?" A scientist asked as he held up his digital video cam. Nodding, Adair morphed yet again.

"Got it thank you!"

"Could we touch you?" Another asked, eagerness in his voice.

"Fine, just don't poke me with anything but your claws," Adair said.

The group moved cautiously closer and began to examine him all over, making copious notes and asking numerous questions as they did so. Adair did his best to answer them without revealing everything about his species and their culture.

"Can you produce fire?" One asked.

"Yes, but don't ask for a demonstration, since I don't think Dr. Sinian would be happy to repair the damage I'd cause in such a small space," Adair demurred.

The scientists looked disappointed but continued to ask other questions, like what he ate, did he hunt for his food, mating, fighting (when and if it was necessary) and on and on.

Finally, after some three hours of grueling questions, touches, probing and requests to change back and forth numerous times, Adair called a halt to the research session.

"I think you've gotten everything I'm allowed to reveal to you and satisfied the tip of your curiosity...." Many actually laughed at that knowledgeable statement that a scientist's curiosity was never truly quenched. "......but I'm very tired and do have other things to do....like have a life."

There was a smattering of laughter at that comment as they reluctantly agreed to allow Adair to leave. With many a backward look, the scientists were herded out of the room by Dr. Sinian, who paused at the door a moment.

"Thank you, Adair. I think this will do what you hoped."

"I hope you're right Dr. Sinian. All we can do is wait and see," Adair sighed, giving her a small smile.

She smiled back and slipped out the door. Groaning in relief, Adair morphed back to his Kat form, put his cloak back on and walked across the room to the door. Peering out cautiously to see if the coast was clear, he slipped out and headed back to his escape route. Like he had told the doctor, all they could do now was wait and see how the public reacts to this bombshell.

While Adair made his strategic exit, Dr. Sinian was herding the scientists to the conference room they had gathered in before going to see the dragon. During their absence, she had ordered a buffet set up for everyone to eat and discuss what they had seen and heard.

She took up the leadership once more and guided the scientists into a discussion on how to consolidate this information with the one collected for the ancient city then how they would disseminate it to the scientific community before releasing it to the public.

An uproar was caused when Dr. Sinian made a request that met with immediate objections.

"What you ask is ridiculous!" One noted scientist scoffed.

"I don't think the dragons would think so. Look, you are exposing them to the population after the scientific community publishes their findings. Of course, the dragons should have the right to preview the report before its released to assure themselves that it is accurate and isn't embellished with things that could cause them harm. It is their lives were talking about. They are nearly extinct as a species," she said passionately.

"A too large portion of their numbers are terrified of Kats and may not reveal themselves for fear of retaliation despite the reveal by the braver of them. Then there is the smaller percentage that are so afraid they won't even reveal themselves to their own kind. You must admit this division of their kind into different camps will simply increase the speed of their decline. So I don't think it is that much of an imposition that we let their council review the report before it is released to the rest of our community," Dr. Sinian stressed her point, trying to make them see this really wasn't an option.

Many heads still shook in disagreement.

"We've never done that in all the years the scientific community has existed. I don't see why we should change our procedures now," another of the older scientists said pompously.

"Then you will have nothing!" Abi said flatly. Blank looks of confusion greeted this statement.

"Your report won't be worth the paper its printed on if dragons never reveal themselves. It will be considered yet another piece of fiction and ignored," she clarified.

Looks of disbelief covered many faces.

"We have proof, tons of pictures....."one objected heatedly.

"Of course you do. But they could be faked! You seem to forget how hard it is to impress our own peers. Unless they can actually see it for themselves they will remain skeptical as will the public. It's just the nature of Kats. That's why we always back up our research with tangible things whenever we can. So if the dragons never appear, they may or not believe you and there you will be with a war between the believers and the non-believers. That's what we have already," Abi said mildly sarcastic.

Grumbles of displeasure, angry retorts, and reluctant agreements to her blunt assessment sped around the room. The argument lasted for several hours until finally, a consensus was reached. Even the diehards were forced to accept that what Dr. Sinian had said would put a big spike in their discovery if they did not allow the dragons to review their report before it was published.

Since this was such a big deal and the dragons obviously trusted Dr. Sinian with ensuring their history was reported accurately, it was agreed she would be the one to consolidate the various reports each scientist would write on their portion of the research then have it typed up in a readable draft for all of them to review before a copy would be given to the dragons.

Further, they agreed not to speak of it to anyone outside their teams and that no word of it would be released until the dragons gave their okay on the draft. With that, they finally broke up for the night, tired but mostly satisfied. Tomorrow they would return to their far off homes and begin their work.

Abi was exhausted but pleased. She just hoped nothing major happened while all this was taking place. It would take a few months before all the reports would start to trickle in then another month or more for her to consolidate it and get it typed.

Well, the dragons had waited this long, a few months more wouldn't matter that much.

Later that month, Adair was happy to report that the scientists had met, been impressed, took lots of notes and asked lots of questions. Though they were reluctant at first, Dr. Sinian had forced them to sent the draft of their report to the dragons for their review before it was published. They even went so far as to have Dr. Sinian be responsible for consolidating all the information into the draft. He felt confident the resultant document would be all they'd hoped. However, he cautioned, it would take some time for all of this to be done.

"How long do you estimate?" The elder asked.

"Most likely four or five months."

The elder nodded. "That actually is fairly quick in dragon time," he rumbled, pleased. He noted the ones attending this meeting seemed to be pleased as well except for the ones who still didn't like this at all. He sighed mentally. Well, it would have been too much to ask if everyone agreed.

"You did a great job, Adair. We are very pleased. Keep on top of it and we'll see what we will see," the elder rumbled as he ended the meeting.

Adair smiled with pleasure at the compliment then took his leave for home. Now all they had to do was wait but dragons were masters at that game.


	5. Chapter 5

**THERE BE DRAGONS!**

**Chapter 5: Dragons are real?**

Though it took more than five months, the report was finally drafted. It took another two weeks and many disagreements before the dragons finally agreed to the document. Dr. Sinian sighed in relief as she finalized the document, sent a new draft to her fellow scientists and awaited their responses.

Over those long months, the dragons kept more under cover than usual. They didn't want any premature exposure to ruin the reveal. So they did not meet except once a month and only if necessary.

Meanwhile the city was fairly quiet except for one incident involving Dr. Viper. Fortunately, he had been unusually stupid and was caught before he could do any real harm. Just a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time...or the right time if you were the SWAT Kats as they were the ones to stumble onto the lizard during his attempted commission of the crime.

It was a true relief to get a break that was longer than just a few weeks. So, many of the city's inhabitants enjoyed the peace and dared to go out and enjoy the unseasonably warm weather the city was experiencing for what usually was a wet and chilly onset of Spring.

At the garage where Jake and Chance worked, the intake had been steady and, without the constant interruptions of omegas, they were finally able to make a bit of money. They even went to Atakata Island again for a much needed break to enjoy some fun in the sun, one long weekend recently.

The hidden dragon breathed more easily as well. Mention of dragons was not as prevalent again and he felt more relaxed and could focus on his job. Sleep at night was easier and he even went so far as to take some time off just for himself.

But, despite feeling a little more at ease, he could never forget that brief glimpse, all those nights ago, of the dragon soaring through the night sky. It haunted his dreams more than once a week.

The harder he tried to pretend he hadn't really seen what he thought he did, the more the longing to see the dragon in person became. He didn't understand why he was so fixated lately. All those years growing up in the restrictive atmosphere of his home life, he never once felt any need to be what he truly was but lately, something within him ached and badgered him that all was not right and he could not shut it up nor push it from his mind as he once so easily did. It troubled him and left him confused as to why this was happening now. Too bad he couldn't see into the future as a few of his kind could...his questions, whether he liked it or not...were about to be answered.

On the sixth month, the vivid picture of Adair as a dragon becoming a Kat with ease, was splashed prominently on the cover of the Aristal Archaeological Magazine which was snapped up immediately by the scientific news desks then reached the sharp ears and eyes of the media which in turn broadcasted the event on every radio, TV, and newspaper around the world creating an instant sensation. '**Dragons are real' **was on everyone's lips shortly thereafter and excitement ran wild all over the planet.

It was the top subject in every place people congregated and it wasn't long before a division formed between those who thought dragons were really cool to have around and could be useful...to those who were fearful and wanting the dragons rounded up and identified for the safety of all. Fortunately, the ones who loved the idea of dragons outnumbered, thoroughly, the ones who were afraid of the creatures.

Visitation to the museums increased three-fold causing long lines of people waiting to view the dragon exhibits. Museums saw their profits soar as dragon fever swept the world. The museum that saw the biggest crowds was, of course, Megakat City because of the real dragon they had on display there. No where was safe from dragon-itis, as it was being dubed by the news medias. The magazine, with the red dragon on its front, sold out repeatedly, keeping the publishing houses and distributors very busy.

"Wow! Jake, this dragon business is incredible but I'm having a hard time believing dragons could take on the form of Kats," Chance Furlong scoffed, watching a recap on the news about the magazine article. He shook his head at the image of the red dragon and thought the whole thing was staged to gain publicity for the museum and their city.

"Why don't you believe it buddy?" Jake asked cautiously.

"Oh come on, Jake. We saw dragons. They are big, ugly and stupid," Chance snorted.

Jake winced and felt a sudden stab of anger in his chest. Perhaps it was time to clue his partner in at last. After all, that was why they had done this although, none of them had made a grand appearance yet. Even the boldest of them were having butterflies about soaring blatantly in the sun filled skies. Someone would have to be first and that's why he'd done it but coming out to his partner still worried him. However, he couldn't allow Chance to continue being so skeptical, so he came to a decision and stood up from the couch, turning to face his friend.

"Come with me, Chance. I have something very important to show you!"

Chance stared up at his friend in puzzled confusion and concern as he noted the serious expression on Jake's face as well as a hint of anger glinting from his brown eyes. 'Huh? Why is he angry all of a sudden?'

"Okay," he agreed reluctantly, getting up from his seat and following his partner into the kitchen then down the trapdoor hidden by a throw rug. Once in the hangar, he watched his friend stride out to the middle of the floor, turn and change completely.

"Oh my God!" Chance gasped in stunned amazement as he stared upward at a huge red dragon.

The dragon lowered its head until he was looking straight into his friend's green eyes with his shimmering red fauceted ones. "I'm a dragon, I do exist and I know you know I'm a long ways from being stupid!"

"Jake?" Chance breathed in awe.

"Actually, my name is Adair."

"Adair?...Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why did you never tell me?"

"Chance! Weren't you listening to all the information being disseminated about us? It told you why!" Adair said, a bit exasperated with his partner.

"No, I understand why your species hid. What I don't understand is why you didn't trust me enough to tell me," the tabby said, a hurt note in his voice. Suddenly, all those little clues his subconscious had been saving up and puzzling over for years...suspicions that his best friend was hiding something from him...something really important...was now revealed. It even explained the odd question about the subject Jake had asked him some months ago.

Rearing back on his feet, Adair frowned in surprise then morphed back to his form as Jake Clawson so he could be face to face with his upset friend.

"Aw, Chance...it wasn't like that! My community felt it wasn't safe for us to reveal ourselves to anyone...no exceptions. But, I would have disobeyed if I wasn't afraid it would change the dynamics of our friendship as well as our partnership as the SWAT Kats. I just couldn't take that risk. However, I want you to know, over the long years of my existence, no one has ever been as good a friend as you and I cherish that very much. It is a rare thing to find and I couldn't bear for anything to happen to it. Forgive me! I never intended to hurt you, I love you as a brother...a brother of the soul as none other has been to me ever before," he said sincerely, every word from his heart.

"Wow! Guess that's a true testament of what I mean to you. I've never had anyone that means as much as you do to me either," Chance said quietly. "Okay, I forgive you. It's obvious you really didn't have a choice," he sighed in resignation, believing his friend's sincerity. "Hey, I just realized...was that you on that magazine?" He asked.

Jake blushed a bit. "Uh, yeah it was."

"Who knew about you before me?"

"Dr. Sinian. We chose her as the best person to give an honest report on us and to be able to convince her peers. It was a joint effort between scientists and the dragons to put out this report. I felt it would be easier on the public if the facts about dragons came from the scientific community first and allowed them to leak it to the people slowly...rather than shock them. This way the subject of dragons changing to Kats would be more likely to be believed."

Chance thought about that for several minutes before saying, "You were the one to come up with it, huh?"

"Yes. I felt it was time something was done and soon. Kat kind was on the verge of finding us and I didn't want our discovery made that way. We needed to be the ones to initiate our own revealing so that it could be done the way we wanted it and not by accident which could easily have caused a panic among Kats and dragons."

The tabby nodded his head. "I can see why and it was a good idea. Okay, you're off the hook for leaving me last. Had to have been really hard for you to keep such a secret from me," he said. Then he gave Jake a pointed look, "so, are you, perhaps, one of their leaders since it seems you have a great deal of influence to pull something like this off?"

"Well, not exactly. We don't have a leader but a council that decides the things we do but as an elder, I do have more say than most of my brethren," Jake admitted.

"An elder huh? So just how old are you?" Chance asked, thinking it might be a hundred or so...the news piece had said they were long lived.

Jake smirked and said cheekily, "ohh, old enough to be your grandfather perhaps four times removed."

"Aw come on Jake..tell me!"

"Alright, but promise you won't freak out?" Jake said, relenting.

Chance's eyebrows rose. "That old huh?"

"I'm four hundred and fifty-six years old, exactly."

"Holy...! Crud Jake...Adair...uh...! Dang it! This is going to be confusing remembering what to call you!'

"Why? You remember to call me Razor," Jake asked innocently, pulling Chance's chain a bit to keep things light.

"That's different..." Chance huffed, a little overwhelmed by all that he'd seen and heard.

"It's okay, buddy," his partner said soothingly, coming to his friend's side and giving him a hug. "You can still call me Jake since that is my Kat name."

"Oh, that's right, you guys have two names...I forgot about that," Chance said, feeling a bit addled. "Could I see you as a dragon again. I think the shock factor is over and I really would like to take a closer look at you."

"Sure," Jake said warmly as he walked back out to give himself more room then morphed to dragon.

Chance stared for a long minute drinking in this amazing sight then he slowly walked up to his partner and studied him closer from his jeweled eyes down to his heavily clawed feet and long spiked tail.

"Wow. You look truly amazing buddy...much better than that magazine cover," he said admiringly then added, "How about that? I have a dragon for a partner."

Adair laughed deep in his chest. "Have you seen enough?"

"Yeah, hey can you breath fire?" Chance asked, eyes lighting up like a kitten.

Laughing at Chance's excitement, Adair answered, "yeah, Chance I can breath fire and fly and resist most weapon's fire."

"Cool!" The tabby said then a thoughtful look passed over his face. "You know, you could take on old Dark Puss without much trouble and Viper. Put them down for good perhaps."

"Hmm, you know I never really took the time to think about how my dragon shape could be of more help to the city than my Kat one but wouldn't you be upset if I wasn't in the cockpit with you?"

"Heck no! You're not there most of the time anyway, remember? Only this way, I wouldn't be as worried about you as I am now when you go head on into danger as a Kat," Chance said firmly.

"Well there is that. You're right, perhaps this might be the way to introduce people to a real live dragon and show them how we can be a benefit to Kat kind and take away the concern of many that we might be a danger. That has been our most serious worry."

"Yeah, you guys certainly weren't treated very well. I find it hard to believe Kats could have been so selfish back then and greedy."

"Well, see it from their point of view Chance. They were growing in number, much faster than dragons could and they needed more food and water. Though there were other places they could have moved to that had these things, why should they move when they had what they needed right where they were and on top of that, the land was extra fertile because of the rich soil from the volcanoes, the warmth under the ground, and the hot springs. Seen from their perspective, I could see why they thought they had a right to the lion's share of the surrounding area. However, they weren't alone and they did take over the dragon's territory and they weren't very nice about it. But there were bad dragons as well that exasperated the problem making it more of a mess than it should have been. So there you are, a bitter war, a friendship ended and fear to replace it equals a species nearing extinction and too afraid to reveal itself," Adair said.

Chance could only shake his head. "That's a rather magnanimous attitude to have, Adair, considering how many of you Kat kind had killed and such a waste too. Well, I hope we don't repeat our mistakes now. We're more advanced and should no longer need to take someone else's space to exist."

"I hope you're right, Chance. I truly hope you're right. But your idea of me fighting the omegas as a dragon is a good one. However, I cannot be seen as Razor changing into a dragon and you must never call me by my call sign in my dragon form...use only Adair. It is our only area of protection in case things go fubar despite our efforts. In the case of me though, it is my Jake persona that's my safety net and I definitely don't want my Razor persona associated with my Adair one. Though Dr. Sinian knows it, she won't reveal it and now you know it. So promise me you will keep that secret at least for a little while longer," Adair said seriously.

A sad look came into Chance's eyes. He could well understand Jake's fear even if he had never lived undercover most of his life as Jake had. He had gotten used to keeping a secret due to his dual identity as T-Bone. He couldn't imagine what it was like for Jake to have two secret identities. He shook his head mentally, but out loud he said, "I promise, buddy. It's my fervent wish that you won't have to hide for much longer."

"That is my hope too buddy," Adair sighed as he allowed his form to return to his Jake persona once more. As they walked back to the ladder and went upstairs to get some lunch, Jake was thinking about what Chance had said about fighting the omegas.

As Chance searched the fridge for the sandwiches they'd gotten earlier and set them out on the counter then grabbed the milk, Jake watched him for a minute before speaking.

"You know, Chance, though I can't have you call out to me, we do need to communicate somehow. I'm going to tinker around and see if I can come up with a small hand's free radio to hook to my ear so I can speak with you allowing us to coordinate our attacks."

Chance glanced over at his friend, pausing from pouring the milk. "Good idea, buddy! I don't like the idea of being totally out of touch with you," he said, relieved that problem was going to be dealt with. He turned back to finishing what he was doing.

Jake moved to his side and helped him set the table then sat down to eat. "I'll get to it after lunch."

Chance just nodded as he took a big bite of his sandwich and ruminated over all he'd learned the past hour. Then a new question struck him, "hey, Jake, when you said not to give away you're Razor when you're in dragon form, does that also mean your fellow dragons don't know you're a SWAT Kat either?"

"That's correct, buddy. It was to give us a way to hide from each other when squabbles, jealousy spats, and enmity might rear their ugly heads. We are so few and the stresses we live under so great, that taking this step was necessary to keep us alive. But, those problems have lessened significantly over the past couple of decades and I'm seriously thinking we need to jettison that behavior now," Jake mused. "It actually could be a serious detriment to us."

"You might be right. That's a lot of responsibility to rest on your shoulders, Jake," the tabby said, worriedly.

Jake gave him a wane smile. "Par for the course lately, Chance. But change is necessary if we are to move with the times and increase our numbers."

Chance could only nod at that as he finished his lunch. 'Things were sure going to get very interesting around here,' he mused.


	6. Chapter 6

**THERE BE DRAGONS!**

**Chapter 6: Taking Down Viper**

The hidden dragon cringed in panic when he saw the news clip the night the report on dragons was released. He remained glued to his chair throughout the broadcast and only moved when it went to a new topic. Horror, shock, longing, fear raced through him in a barrage of intense emotions he couldn't catalog nor adjust to.

He flung himself from his chair and nearly ran to the balcony of his apartment, to get away from the chattering TV and feel the cool evening air on his face, though, his distress kept him from the sights and sounds of a huge city at night that he normally enjoyed.

Tears fell unheeded down his face as he desperately tried to find some order in the chaos that had suddenly become his life. Knowing he could simply ignore this news and continue to hide from his kind and pretend to be a Kat, didn't help still the chaos he was experiencing now simply because some part of him desperately longed to be with his kind.....to be loved.....to belong. He'd be surprised to learn this feeling was normal due to him being only a hatchling and far too young to be on his own. He'd probably laugh derisively at that information because he'd been forced to think like a Kat rather than a dragon and Kats treated him like an adult so he had no way of knowing that was wrong for him.

Though the hidden, or 'the lost' as the dragon community called them, denied their heritage and lived among Kats as Kats, they couldn't hide from themselves the fact they were dragons and dragons had certain needs not met by Kats, one of which was a strong instinct to be a part of a community...that was a part of their makeup.

Because they adamantly refused to be who they really were and didn't teach their hatchlings how to be dragons, they left their young confused about the strange feelings of need that wasn't being met and was only exasperated as they grew older. It was much worse for those who had been orphaned early in life.

Dragon hatchlings required the closeness of their elders during their most vulnerable years to ensure their continued health, both physical and emotional, and learning how to be a dragon They just didn't do well on their own.

To Kat kind, a young hatchling would appear more than old enough to handle their own affairs and, in truth, they were trained to manage their lives as Kats early on, however, being a dragon was something much more difficult and took far longer to learn. A dragon under a hundred years old was about the same as kittens aged one through their teens. After a hundred, they are in their twenties in Kat years and are becoming more independent though still carefully monitored for their safety and well being.

Unfortunately, the hidden could and did get decimated by hunters, leaving far too many young hatchlings to fend for themselves. This left Kat kind at risk from threats by angry, unhappy, and maladjusted dragon young. Hatchlings were the cause of many of the reports from history of the legends of attacks by dragons. It was imperative that the hidden be found and brought back into the fold once more. This was what Adair and his community was trying to accomplish.

For this young hidden, the death of his grandfather, the last of his family when he was barely seventy years old, had left him devastated. Anger, grief, and loneliness battled within him for years after his grandfather's brutal murder at the paws of a hunting pack of Kats that still practiced the old ways. Modern sensibilities had shoved the hunters into near oblivion (though not completely eradicated) since then but it had been too late for him and his family.

To survive, he took a chance and joined the enforcer academy with money from his family's hidden hoard of cash. It wasn't a lot but it allowed him to not be forced to live on the streets. The enforcers were a good fit for him and actually provided him the discipline he would have received from an older dragon. It kept him from becoming a threat to society.

But now he had a chance to be a part of a dragon community that could fill the empty feeling within him, however, he was too afraid to approach them. It had been drummed in his head that revealing oneself was a death sentence and he had their deaths as proof.....hiding meant living and hiding from his own kind ensured an even greater chance of survival.

But he found himself questioning that teaching more of late. As he grew older and failed to make any kind of ties with either dragons or Kats, he was left feeling remote, adrift, and very lonely.

'Is this the price I want to pay....to just drift through life without someone to share it with? It doesn't feel right somehow to be soo alone. And, if I'm truly honest with myself, was this really living at all?' He thought miserably. He received no answers to his entreaties from the night sky.

****************

Elsewhere in the city, another pair of eyes studied the news broadcast with cold interest. Another of the hidden, he too had been trained to keep himself removed from dragon kind and to stay only in his Kat form. They thought they were safe, but one day hunters found his family and proceeded to obliterate them in a most brutal fashion. He was the only survivor which served their purpose as they needed a live subject to study, looking for the species' weaknesses. He suffered their cruel and agonizing experiments for over ten years.

When he had reached the age of seventy, he finally managed to escape his nightmarish prison, killing the hunters and destroying their hidden fortress. He wandered the world for many decades after that before descending on this city only five years earlier. He was now more than two hundred and fifty years old. Memories of his horrifying past and the physical damage done to him, imbued him with a burning hatred and need for revenge. And, since he hadn't been taught to honor and respect his own kind, he had no use for them......they were simply an obstacle to overcome nothing more.

His eyes were hooded as he stared at the screen. It infuriated him to know that dragon communities existed and he suspected there was one located here. Their existence complicated his plans for the conquest of Megakat City.

He savagely cut off the TV and brooded.

Before he could even consider moving forward with his plans, he would now have to find and eliminate the dragon community then after he had taken over the city, he would have to find a way to keep other dragon communities from invading his home base as well as dispose of any that were hiding within the city at present. Scowling, he got up from his seat and headed to his workroom.

He hated complications!

*******************

At first, despite all the hoopla and many magazine and news photos, the public had yet to see one live dragon. That's because dragons were still leery of this sudden acceptance and didn't trust it.

Jake sighed as he watched the latest news broadcast a month after the bomb dropped about dragons being able to take the appearance of a Kat and living hidden among them all these centuries. There had been some outbursts of panic here and there among the more easily frightened of the population but it was milder than the dragons feared it would be much to their relief.

However, it still didn't give them the courage to come out. Oddly enough, there had been no sightings or appearances by omegas lately either, so Jake hadn't been able to show off how useful dragons could be. He snorted in frustration drawing his partner's attention from his comic book.

"What's wrong?"

"How are the Katizens of this city supposed to accept dragons if dragons won't make an appearance? If this goes on much longer, the population will begin to disbelieve all the news put out about us and then we'll be back to square one," Jake grumbled, unhappily

"Yeah, I think you're right about that but I don't know how you can do anything about it except to expose yourself by flying around the city. That doesn't sound so good to me because it also makes you a target for the scared fanatics out there," Chance warned.

"I know, that's why I was waiting my opportunity by taking out a bad guy but everyone seems to have decided to stay out of sight and continue to just watch and wait," Jake sighed in annoyance.

Chance chuckled at that. "Now that's a first! Complaining about things being quiet for once. Seriously, though, I understand your frustration but there's no point in getting your tail in a knot over it since there's nothing more you can do. Sorry buddy."

"You're right. I guess I'll just have to pray something happens soon or all my hard work will be for nothing."

It took another two weeks before Jake finally got his wish. They were working in the garage when their alarm went off. Chance was the closest to the phone so reached out and grabbed it quickly.

"Yes, Ms. Briggs?"

"T-Bone! Dr. Viper's odd plants have been spotted by a sharp eyed lab tech at a small private lab on the west side of the city. It's call GenTec and the enforcers have been notified. I haven't heard what Viper was looking for there so perhaps you'd better check it out!" She said hurriedly.

"Roger, we'll get right on it and thanks!" T-Bone said then cut the connection.

Chance looked over at his partner and saw Jake was already closing the garage and setting out the notice they put up when they were gone. The two of them then scrambled down to the hangar quickly and were soon roaring through the skies, all engines firing to get them to the lab more swiftly.

When they arrived, the enforcers already had the building surrounded and, fortunately, evacuated as well, as they could see a milling group of scientist types safely corralled behind the enforcer line.

Apparently Viper was still around because thick vines were waving out of the upper floors of the five story building where they'd broken the glass and were presently reaching out to choppers trying to cut them to pieces.....the choppers getting themselves knocked out of the sky for their efforts.

Razor fired his favored buzzsaw missiles and succeeded in cutting up a lot of vines but they grew back far too quickly.....a favorite mutation of Viper's. The SWAT Kat hissed in annoyance, switching to matchhead missiles.....these had more success but it was hard to take out the vines without taking out more of the building as well.

T-Bone pulled on the yoke suddenly sending them upward at a steep angle to avoid a huge, thick vine from trying to swat him out of the sky.

"What's your plan, Razor? These things are growing back too fast to take them out permanently and there's no telling what Viper is up too while we're stuck out here."

"I know and I can't use most of my munitions because it will just make swiss cheese of that building and I'd rather not rack up more property damage against us. There's only one thing left and it's finally the chance I've been waiting for," Razor said as he took off his helmet and switched to a small radio that affixed to his ear.

The device was his recent invention that would allow him to keep in contact with T-Bone when Razor left the jet and appeared as Adair. He climbed down into the cargo hold and put on his delta pack as he spoke with his partner.

"Hope your secret weapon is up to the job and can put an end to that writhing mess, but take care out there buddy....you're not indestructible," T-Bone warned him.

"I will, buddy. I may not be indestructible but I am fast and I have better accuracy with my special skill than with my missiles. At least, that's my hope. Launching by delta pack now!" Razor called out as he leaped from the small cargo door.

T-Bone watched as his partner vanished below him then disappeared only to appear moments later as a huge red dragon.

Soaring close to the building and avoiding the vines easily, Adair blew flames on each reaching vine and reduced them to ash with ease much to his relief. Confident he could take them all out quickly, Adair flitted like a fast moving hummingbird as he destroyed the vines using just enough flame to do the job without doing anymore damage to the building.

Feral, flying a fleet of choppers on the north side of the building, gaped in shock at the sight of a dragon appearing suddenly and dealing a death blow to the vines, clearing them away more rapidly than his troops were doing.

"Squadron.....back off and let that....thing... take care of the vines......beta squadron....remain in the air and watch for anything else Viper might send out......alpha squadron follow me to the ground...we're going in and finding Viper," he ordered rapidly while his heart still hammered in fear and longing at the sight of the red dragon. Pushing that part of him away, he concentrated on his job.

Seeing Adair's success in getting rid of the vines and hearing Feral's orders over his radio, T-Bone decided he might as well join the party. Flying the Turbokat to the roof of the lab, he landed quickly then jumped out, searching for a way into the building. Suddenly a brisk wind struck him from behind.....he whirled with his glovatrix extended only to relax a second later, when he saw it was Adair.

The red dragon closed his wings and lowered his head to speak to his partner, "I've cleared away all the vines I could reach from outside," Adair reported, blowing a little sulfur laden breath into T-Bone's face, making him grimace in disgust.

"Phooey, dragon breath....get a mint will ya!" He said jokingly then got serious again. "Feral is already charging in through the front doors so I'm heading in from the top.....you joining me?"

Adair went to the edge of the roof and stared down, saw it was fairly quiet.....no more vines to be seen then looked back at his partner. "I'll join you as soon as I can change without being seen. I'll use that warehouse a short distance away and be back to join you. Be careful you don't get jumped from behind," he warned preparing to leap into the air.

T-Bone nodded in agreement but was frowning unhappily. "We never addressed this problem of still functioning as a team when you're not a Kat. We need to talk about this potential problem later," he said grimly.

"You're right about that!" Adair said, troubled as well, then took off into the air.

Finding no entry from the roof, T-Bone rapelled down the side of the building and went in one of the many broken windows. He landed in an empty room.....minus any plants, he sighed in relief, then headed for the door leading to the hallway.

Here he ran into some of Viper's nastier plantimals....the electro and spiny ones. He began firing a variety of missiles from his glovatrix to clear the hall and the enforcers, who had made it up the stairs, did the same from other end of the hallway.

By the time they met where Feral had caught sight of Viper, Razor had managed to catch up to his partner so they could charge the room together. To their dismay, Viper used a thick vine to escape out a window, clutching something in his paw.

"You losssse SSSSWAT Katsss. I've got what I've come for!" He crowed triumphantly as a swarm of those nasty mosquitoes they'd fought before appeared to protect and transport Viper away from the scene.

Razor growled to himself. "I'll get him, T-Bone," he muttered hurriedly to his partner, then retreated out of the room, down the hall and out another window on a side away from the enforcers on the ground. He rapelled down then ran toward the nearby warehouse he'd mentioned to T-Bone. Just moments later, the red dragon was airborne once more and chasing after the rapidly departing swarm.

The beta squadron of choppers were in hot pursuit but were hampered by the mosquitoes which didn't care if they died getting mashed up in the chopper blades. Unfortunately for the enforcers, the dying creatures caused the rotors to clog sending the copters hurling to the ground.

Which caused Adair some hectic moments as he raced to save the many officers who were trapped aboard their choppers before they crashed, depositing them onto rooftops he passed. The rescuing allowed Viper to put distance between himself and his pursuer but hadn't counted on just how fast a dragon could fly. Finished with his missions of mercy, Adair flew at his top speed, rapidly closing the gap with the omega, much to Viper's dismay.

Meanwhile, back at Gen Tec, T-Bone hurriedly made his way out of the building and back to the roof before Feral and his enforcers noticed he was alone. However, he would have been surprised to learn, Feral had paid very little heed to his antagonists. He was having too much difficulty trying to ignore the dragon and do his job. Right now, he and his enforcers were in hot pursuit of Viper and there was that red dragon again, much to his dismay.

He had been stunned to witness the dragon willingly pause in its pursuit of Viper to collect each of his enforcers whose chopper had been disabled, to safety before steaming ahead of Feral to bridge the gap between them and Viper. He watched helplessly, because he was still too far away, as the red dragon easily crisped the mosquitoes and closed in on Viper.

As for Viper, he quickly realized his swarm was rapidly being decimated from around him. Turning his head, he spotted the red dragon!! Heart slamming in his chest, he stretched out over his ride to make himself a smaller target while he urged his mount to greater speed. He searched frantically for a way to evade his pursuer and quickly spotted a bell tower coming up on his left. Making his ride turn sharply, he headed for the structure.

Nearly ten feet from his target, Viper's mount was unceremoniously vaporized from beneath him leaving him to plummet to the ground below. Screaming in terror, he looked around wildly for some way to halt his fall and was stunned when he was suddenly snatched from the air by a clawed foot. He ceased screaming and stared upward at the dragon who craned his neck to stare into Viper's eyes with his glowing red jeweled ones.

"Where did you think you were going Viper?" Adair asked scathingly.

"Let me go!" Viper screeched, trying desperately to get free but Adair's grip was like iron.

"Uh, uh! It's back to prison for you!" Adair snorted then flew toward Enforcer Headquarters.

Viper could only stare upward at the huge creature holding him. He had heard the news about dragons living in Megakat City but he hadn't believed it however, with the very real thing holding him firmly, he was forced to revise his thinking. Things had just become more complicated and criminals like him were going to have to rethink their plans for taking the city with such defenders at paw.

A bit annoyed and still freaked by the dragon, Feral ordered his troops to return to base. He was unaware and actually, never paid attention, that the Turbokat seemed absent from the capture of Viper.

T-Bone knew Adair had things covered so he followed from above and when everything had ended in their favor, simply followed the group back to headquarters. He hadn't received a call from Adair asking for a pickup or declining one, so he hung around waiting.

The odd procession arrived at the enforcer building some fifteen minutes later. The red dragon landed lightly at the end of the flight line on one foot, balancing easily, using his tail to keep him from tipping over as he continued to hold Viper tightly.

Feral and his squadron landed near the flight line doors then he and a fresh group of troops walked cautiously over to the dragon. Feral halted some twenty feet away, unable to bring himself to move closer. He signaled his enforcers to continue on and take Viper into custody while he continued to study the dragon from a safe distance.

It was a beautiful shade of red that shimmered in the sun's light.....the wings were magnificent even folded as they were at the moment....and the jeweled red eyes.....how he missed those.....they reminded him longingly of his departed grandfather, despite that, he still couldn't approach the image before him now.

He watched as the red dragon only released Viper when his troops were close enough to actually grab the omega and begin hauling the mutant away. Once his prisoner was taken away by the awed enforcers who were rather nervous around him, the dragon stared at Feral in puzzlement.

It seemed strange the Commander refused to come closer to take the prisoner into custody himself....that just wasn't like him at all. Frowning, Adair began to take a few steps toward the tom only to have Feral immediately step backwards at the same time. He halted and cocked his head.

"What's the matter Commander? Do I make you nervous? Don't be, I'm not going to hurt you."

Feral shook his head, swallowed and took another few steps backward. "I believe you but I'm not interested in proving the statement true right now. I want to thank you for snatching Viper, saving my pilots, and stopping those vines quickly before they could do more damage. That being said, you shouldn't interfere in enforcer business. We are trained and willing to do what's necessary to protect this city. You are not trained and if things had gone very wrong, more than enforcers and a building could have come to harm that is why outsiders are not welcome on crime scenes," he said officiously.

Adair snorted and gave Feral a sarcastic look while at the same time, inside he was shocked and surprised that Feral had thanked him at all.....he never did that! Studying Feral's cautious stance and, if he wasn't mistaken, the hint of fear he could see in the tom's eyes, he decided not to push it with the normally taciturn Chief Enforcer.

So he simply said, "Yeah, I know all about that but when I can make it a shorter battle, with fewer casualties, I think that is more important than what you're overly concerned about especially since I'm much harder to damage. But, I promise not to interfere too much except when it looks like all is lost if I don't. That should ease your sense of duty somewhat. By the way, my name is Adair and you'll be seeing quite a bit of me. Later, Commander!" He said in parting, smiling as he lifted into the air and soared off.

Feral shuddered and watched tensely as the red dragon flew higher and higher until he couldn't be seen any longer, only then did the Commander turn on his heel and head back inside his headquarters.


	7. Chapter 7

**THERE BE DRAGONS!**

**Chapter 7: Turmoil Makes a Daring Raid**

High above Enforcer Headquarters, T-Bone hovered waiting. Very soon a red dragon came up through the cloud cover to meet him. It moved close until it was hovering near the cargo door.

"Open up, T-Bone," Adair requested.

"Roger!" The tabby pilot reached out and pressed the release button.

Below the door slid open and the moment it did, Adair changed from dragon to SWAT Kat in the blink of an eye. Razor dived into the opening then hit the close button. He crossed the cargo floor and climbed up the ladder, dropping into his seat seconds later. Strapping himself in and putting on his helmet, he called to his partner through the radio.

"Let's go home, buddy!"

"Sounds good to me!" T-Bone switched the jet from VTOL to forward motion and engaged all engines to send them roaring off toward their hidden hangar. Neither of them spoke during the fairly short ride.

Razor's mind dwelled on those few moments with Feral on the flight line. The big tom's behavior toward him had been much more than fear of being near such a large creature which was strange in and of itself. Feral was generally fearless, except where being afraid was justified, but Adair hadn't threatened him in any way. Yet the Chief Enforcer refused to come closer to him and take Viper prisoner, something he would have done without much hesitation. What was going on with Feral?

He was so preoccupied with trying to puzzle this out that he never noticed they had returned home and T-Bone was already opening the canopy and leaping out. The cool air of the hangar made him blink and come out of his deep thoughts. Frowning, he leaped from the cockpit, his partner was standing there eyeing him questioningly.

"What's up, buddy? I thought the mission went off well except for the problem of you rejoining me when you switched forms."

Razor shook his head and began walking toward their changing area without saying anything as yet. Confused and concerned, T-Bone trailed after him. The two of them changed clothes in silence then headed for upstairs. Jake didn't pause in the garage but headed upward to their apartment instead.

He went to the kitchen and took out a couple cans of milk and tossed one to Chance who caught it easily, continuing to stare at his friend, waiting for some kind of explanation.

Jake leaned against the counter and sighed. "When I dropped Viper off, Feral behaved strangely. You know he would have been the first to grab Viper and Mirandized him but he didn't. Instead he sent his enforcers to take the prisoner while he stood some twenty feet from me. I could see he was tense, a little nervous and there was fear in his eyes though he tried to hide it."

Chance's eyebrows rose in surprise. "Now that doesn't sound like him. He's not one to be afraid of much and his usual response would be throwing a tantrum for your interference. Did he say anything at all?"

"Yes, but it wasn't to rant at me which I was expecting, instead he...he thanked me for helping capture Viper as well as rescuing his enforcers from their falling choppers."

"He what?" Chance blurted, nearly choking on his milk. "He's never thanked anyone, at least not directly. What the heck is up with him?"

"I don't know and I don't' like it. A change in behavior by Feral is not a good thing right now when I'm trying to get dragon kind accepted. I didn't think he would be happy about us being here because it disrupts his sense of order which is already disturbed by our interference as the SWAT Kats and now here are dragons in his precious airspace interfering in enforcer business as well. Yet, all I got was a mild rebuke for interfering and that's all!" Jake said, confused and a little worried.

They were silent for a moment, trying to come up with reasons for the way the Commander was acting but after several long minutes, Chance shrugged his shoulders and said, "well, there's nothing we can do about it right now except to keep a closer eye on him. The behavior seems to have happened when you, as a dragon, appeared so we'll just have to observe him more to see why that is."

Jake grimaced unhappily but had to admit his partner was right. "Yeah, guess you're right. Think I'll prod him a little more the next time we meet to see what his problem might be but for now we've got work to do."

Chance grunted in agreement, finished his milk, tossed the can and turned to head downstairs to the garage to get back to work that had been interrupted by the call.

Some weeks passed and another omega came out of the woodwork. Jake once mused that if he was so minded he should do a graph on the times the omegas showed because it seemed they did it in waves...one after the other...as if connected by some kind of perverted telepathy.

Chance just snorted at him but had to admit that they did seem to take turns or join up but never showed up by accident together, except that one time when Dark Kat interfered with Viper's theft of a catalyst at the labs. And, for whatever reason, the order of appearance seemed to be almost the same several times running...Hard Drive...Viper...Dark Kat...sprinkled with a few scientific accidents every now and then. This time, however, a rare appearance by Turmoil took everyone by surprise.

Why she would decide to return to Megakat City after escaping only four months ago, was the question on everyone's mind. The only answer they got was a vicious attack committed at the height of an unusually violent thunderstorm.

Normally, most aircraft would be grounded under such conditions but it appeared Turmoil had some new style jets that could navigate through it with disturbing ease.

It had started as a nasty day that made the normal commute to work a nightmare both for the Katizens and the enforcers who had to deal with multiple accidents throughout the day without the benefit of their choppers...the winds too violent for them. Even the jets were unable to fly under these conditions, so foot patrols and mobile ground units had to deal with whatever came up during the day shift.

As the day went on, the weather worsened to the point the Mayor's office was forced to issue a bulletin instructing people to return home and get off the roads. Businesses sent their employees home causing even more accidents for a while as traffic backed up for an hour or more then things calmed, except for the weather, as evening approached.

It was during the hour just before dusk that Turmoil's forces dove out of the thick cloud cover and attacked Enforcer Headquarters. She apparently had new jamming gear that prevented any of the enforcer's detection equipment from sensing her before it was too late.

While her large airship remained above the clouds over the building, her attack force of small, very agile, jets poured down just like the rain that hid them mostly from view and began pounding the flight line and control tower with highly effective bursts of a new sonic device that literally shattered the choppers parked on the flight line, the glass windows of the upper floors and tower, and the very thick concrete of the flight line, causing it to ripple and crumble.

Screams drifted up from the sidewalks far below as enforcers ran for cover to avoid the deadly rain of glass and concrete from above.

Over at the salvage yard, the two mechanics sat tensely watching the weather news on the TV. There was no work since everyone had been told to stay inside so Jake had used the time to maintenance and do upgrade work on the Turbokat. Chance did the basic work and ensured the jet was fully fueled and loaded in case they were called out to help, though personally he hoped they wouldn't be needed. Flying under these conditions was courting suicide though Chance could do it if pressed.

When they had finished their self imposed tasks, the pair returned upstairs and made dinner then relaxed before the TV. The weather news was grim and they were worried about the shoreline being threatened by huge swells brought in by the storm from further out at sea.

"That storm might cause as much damage as an omega attack and I'm concerned about the ecological threat if those refineries on the coast are breached in any way, buddy," Chance said.

"Yeah, I know but there's nothing we can do about it except hope it blows over before it does any truly disastrous damage."

"Then I hope that weather Kat isn't blowing smoke up our asses with his report that the storm has reached its peak and should be moving off by midnight," Chance snorted derisively.

Suddenly the weather Kat was replaced with a news alert. They sat forward, worried expressions on their faces as they listened intently.

_"This is Kat's Eye News with a Special Alert! Enforcer Headquarters is under attack by an unknown enemy. Katizens are warned to stay away from the area around the headquarters building and to stay indoors while the enforcers deal with the danger. Our on scene reporter is having some serious difficulties trying to transmit under the severe weather conditions...please stand by while we try to reach Ann Gora who is a block or so from the enforcer building...come in Ann..."_

There were bursts of static, an image appeared for a second of a drenched and beleaguered Ann Gora before it faded again then after more seconds of static, her image finally stabilized somewhat. She was standing under an awning trying to report while her camerkat showed images of the enforcer building behind her. Just barely seen through the pouring rain, small jets were flying overhead with bursts of weapons fire flickering brightly against the dark sky.

_"...his is Ann Gora of Kat's Eye News...as you can see behind me, some unknown assailant is attacking Enforcer Headquarters... _(blast of static then her image vanishes but her voice could still be heard) _Apparently they are using some kind of sonic device as glass and concrete is raining down like it's been shattered_. (Image returns and showers of debris can be seen falling) _Commander Feral has launched a counterattack but the weather hampers him though obviously not the enemy...I..." _(another burst of static and Ann's image winks out).

The news announcer comes back on, _"We're sorry folks but the storm is seriously messing with our broadcast from our on scene reporter. To reiterate what Ann has said...Enforcer Headquarters is under attack by unknown assailants..."_

By this time, Chance had shut off the TV and was racing for the hangar, Jake hot on his heels. Quickly, they change and leap aboard the jet. T-Bone signaled the turn table to lower them and minutes later sent the jet roaring through the launch tunnel and into the sky. The jet was immediately buffeted by the high winds, visibility limited by the rain, and lightning making flying extremely hazardous.

"This is crap! How the hell does this enemy manage to fly in this!" T-Bone shouted, clutching the yoke tightly in his paws, fighting to keep control of the violently yawing Turbokat as he struggled to get them to the scene of the battle.

Looking a little green from all the buffeting, Razor hissed in annoyance and concern as his screens fed back nonsense, unable to handle the extreme conditions.

"I don't know but the Turbokat is having a fit dealing with all this. I can't get a decent image of what's ahead and I have no desire to use the dimensional radar again. Let's try our x-ray monitor to see what we're dealing with."

"I hope you can see better than I can. None of my sensors are helping very much up here," T-Bone gritted, barely able to see where he was going.

"Crud!" Razor shouted. "T-Bone! There's a huge fleet of mini jets that seem to have no difficulty flying in this shit and they out number the enforcers who are just sitting ducks out here. Those jets are flying rings around them and easily taking them out of the sky."

"Well, I guess you better do your best to locate them so we can blast them out of the sky and give the enforcers a breather," his partner growled, closing in on the battle.

For the next harrowing minutes, T-Bone did his best to keep the Turbokat in the air and to avoid being shot to pieces. The sonic missiles threatened to take the jet from the sky many times but Razor was succeeding in take out many of them.

Though fast and with new weapons, the attackers weren't invulnerable to Razor's specialized weapons however, there were too many of them and it wasn't long before the SWAT Kats began to be lose their advantage when more jets appeared.

"It doesn't look good buddy! There's just too many of them and they are succeeding in doing some damage to us. It's all I can do to keep us airborne," T-Bone shouted.

"I know!" Razor answered. He studied the battle and decided he couldn't do much more from his gunnery seat. "Time for me to see what I can do on my own buddy."

"What?" T-Bone blurted in shock. "Are you nuts? You aren't invulnerable! How do you think you can deal with these guys without getting yourself killed?"

"Trust me, I've flown in much worse conditions, we're made for it and I certainly can maneuver in it better than the Turbokat and the enforcers. Besides, there's no choice. There are too many of them and they are wiping out the enforcers. Additionally, my natural weapons work in this weather so you do your best to keep the Turbokat in one piece and not let any of those guys knock her from the sky while I try to reduce the odds a bit," Razor said firmly, brooking no more arguments.

T-Bone grumbled unhappily but said nothing more as his partner prepared to leave the cockpit. Razor fitted the ear piece on once more than dropped down into the cargo hold. When the cargo side door slid open, he was nearly slapped back against the far wall from the strong winds. Narrowing his eyes against the rain being swept in, he pulled his way toward the door then hurled himself out, falling swiftly toward the ground.

In the cockpit, T-Bone felt the sudden in-rush of air which forced him to grip the yoke even tighter. Seconds later, his board signaled the door was closed once more. Switching his gaze to the storm filled sky before him, he barely made out the form of the huge red dragon for just a moment as it flapped its wings sending it toward the battle, vanishing from his view within the heavy clouds. He grit his teeth, offered a prayer his partner would survive intact, then headed for another concentration of enemy, firing the Mega Laser as he went.

Deputy Mayor Calico Briggs had opted to remain at city hall in case she was needed to monitor both situations...the storm and the attack on Enforcer Headquarters. She was in the Mayor's office watching the TV for any news on the battle but it was nearly useless as the storm continued to play havoc with the broadcasting signal however, it and the radio that was on beside her, were the only avenues she had to keep tabs on what was going on as trying to speak to the enforcers right now would be impossible. She still had no idea who their attacker was, though she had a suspicion it could be Dark Kat.

The Mayor had evacuated just after he gave the warning to shut down businesses and sent people home, warning her to keep him informed of what was happening. Callie could only roll her eyes in disgust at that order as the cowardly mayor left as if his tail was on fire.

The radio told her things were not going well for either the enforcers or the SWAT Kats, who had just appeared on the scene. Suddenly, the announcer got real excited as reports of a red dragon arriving at the battle, reached them.

Callie glanced at the snowy TV wishing it would clear and suddenly, with a burst of static, it did, revealing images of jets in dogfights, many falling from the sky but Ann Gora was still unable to determine if they were enemy or enforcer as her excited voice reported what she could see, then the camera caught the distinctive shape of the Turbokat appearing through the thick cloud cover, firing a laser that shown red against the dark sky, at some of the smaller jets ahead of it. The SWAT Kats seemed to be making some headway, knocking several of the faster jets from the air until it was surrounded by the enemy then disappeared from view by more clouds and rain.

Her heart tightened at that gloomy sight but then the camera focused on something that appeared suddenly, haloed in a flash of lightning...a dragon, flaming and taking out the small jets easily. For as long as the signal held and the dragon remained in view, Callie held her breath as she watched with a thrill of fear and excitement.

Ever since the report of dragons living among them came out, she wondered if they would show themselves beyond the one in the magazine and the report she'd read from Commander Feral on Dr. Viper's attack.

To her mind, the failure of the dragon community to show itself wasn't helping their cause to be accepted as regular Katizens, though she supposed having been nearly systematically exterminated, they would be really hesitant to stick their necks out. Still, if they wanted to be free to fly the skies once more, they were simply going to have to get over their fear.

'Just one dragon wasn't going to do it by itself,' she sighed. Her musings were interrupted by another spat of clear images flashing across the screen, displaying not one but four dragons now on the scene. Her eyes widened in surprise. 'Well how about that? Looks like some of them mustarded up the courage after all,' she thought, pleased, watching to see if the reinforcements would be able to turn the tide battle for the good guys.

.


	8. Chapter 8

**THERE BE DRAGONS!**

**Chapter 8: Dragons Everywhere**

T-Bone shot straight up to avoid a large group of jets trying to trap him. As he arced the jet around, he was surprised to see more than Adair in the air. Through the heavy rain he caught sight of a golden, an emerald green, a deep royal blue, and of all things, a copper colored dragon.

They flitted up, down, and everywhere, making themselves a difficult target while they dealt heavy damages to the enemy. T-Bone quickly joined them, picking off the jets trying to escape the no win situation among the fast moving dragons.

Faster than he could have imagined, the sky was finally clear of enemy. Knowing the mother ship was most likely above them, T-Bone flew the jet upward, engaging all engines.

Seeing his partner heading for the stratosphere, Adair bugled a call and followed the jet. Multiple bugles answered him, the rest of the dragons quickly forming up behind in his wake.

As they burst through the thick cloud cover to the thinner, clearer air, T-Bone zeroed in on the immense airship belonging to...Turmoil? "Crud, I thought sure it would be Dark Kat!" T-Bone blurted aloud, surprised.

**Aboard the air ship...**

"Captain! Bogies at four o'clock!" A female officer barked to her commander as her radar painted six targets heading for them.

Turmoil hissed in anger. She'd been feeling triumphant when original reports proclaimed they were winning the battle then, less than forty minutes later, her squadrons reported a sudden enemy then contact was lost. Soon only a tenth of her now decimated fleet fled to land on the flight deck.

Fury filled her. 'How had the enforcers managed to take out her specially designed jets?' She wondered, confused. The enforcer fleet was sadly outdated so no way they should have been any kind of barrier to her superior forces but here they came to take out her air ship.

She went to an observation window and stared out, trying to see the jets of her enemy but instead she saw only one very familiar jet and five dragons heading for her airship.

Her eyebrows rose to her hairline and her mouth dropped open in shocked surprise. "Dragons?"

Second in Command Jen Straker gaped as well. "I thought they were a myth," she gasped, awed as she watched the dragons close in on them and begin belching flames at all the vulnerable parts of the ship while easily ducking the weapon's fire that tried to get a bead on them.

Turmoil's momentary astonishment was broken by all the alarms going off signaling disaster as the deck guns fired at the swift moving creatures. Turmoil could only stare, at a loss at how to deal with this new enemy. Enemies in planes she could deal with easily but these things...what was going to work against them? She watched as the creatures systematically reduced her proud airship to so much junk.

A sudden lurch and shriller alarms told her the engines had been compromised and her ship was losing its ability to stay in the air. A voice suddenly boomed from the radio speakers.

"Give it up Turmoil! My friends here are not going to let you escape and if you don't want to come crashing down to your deaths, you'll land this thing while it can still be flown!"

Her fury found a target as she snarled, defiantly, "T-Bone! You overbearing, lying tom! I might have known you would cheat! You couldn't take me out on your own so you sought these creatures to aid you!"

"Hey, I had nothing to do with the cavalry, beautiful. It was their idea! The dragons are trying to show how useful they can be to Kat kind. I think they've proven it quite well, don't you?" The tabby pilot sneered back at her.

Her fists clenched in helpless anger. The insufferable tom was only too right about that. If those damnable creatures hadn't shown up, she would be triumphantly demanding all the money from the city's coffers but instead, she was forced to surrender...again!

Snarling angrily she barked orders to fly to the Megakat Airport. "You win, you hateful thing!" She snapped. "I've ordered the ship to land at the airport. Will that suffice?" She asked through gritted teeth.

"Hang on a moment...I have to check!" T-Bone responded then switched frequencies to reach the enforcers. "Feral...you there? T-Bone here, need a question answered ASAP."

A burst of static then an angry, harassed voice boomed from his mic, "What do you want SWAT Kat?"

"Turmoil is surrendering and plans to set down at the airport. Any problems with that?" T-Bone asked, ignoring Feral's temper.

Surprised and more than a little angry that the SWAT Kats had the upper paw again, Feral nonetheless, put T-Bone on hold, grumbling under his breath as he put in a call to the Megakat Tower then his own tower to have a ground squadron head to the airport to meet the airship. Moments later, he called the Turbokat with instructions.

"SWAT Kat? Have Turmoil pilot her ship to runway 4Niner left. My enforcers will meet her there. She is to wait until ordered to disembark. Tower frequency is Fox Tangle 10...confirm!"

"Confirm...will relay! I and the dragons will escort and see that she doesn't deviate from her flight path," T-Bone responded and was about to cut the connection when he heard Feral's startled question.

"Dragons...plural?"

"Didn't you see them? Yeah, the red dragon was joined by four others and they made mince meat of the airship," T-Bone chortled.

All he heard over the radio next was a choked sound of strangled anger mixed with fear from Feral before the connection cut off. The tabby blinked in surprise at Feral's strange reaction but shrugged if off as he took a high position above the conning tower of the airship.

Off to his left he spotted his partner and gave a waggle of his wings which Adair returned by bobbing his head and giving the dragon equivalent of a smile.

At city hall, Callie sighed in relief as Feral sent a call through his office to her that the enemy had been halted. That was when she learned who their enemy had been.

"Turmoil?" She said, surprised. "Huh! I certainly didn't expect her. Oh well, I'm very glad more dragons had decided to join in or I fear she would have finally gotten what she wanted this time." At least the dragons had finally proven just how useful they could be. Wait until the mayor heard about this. Hell, the city would be abuzz for weeks after the news got around.

The other good news she'd received was the damages to the city had been light to minimal along the coastline and around the city. There had been some flooding in the low lying areas, but they were gradually receding...a few mud slides on the northern passes had shut down traffic for the next few hours...and many areas of farm land had flooded...but, all in all, they had been lucky enough to miss the true brunt of the storm which had remained out at sea. High swells from the storm had threatened the coastline the past few hours but the danger was coming to a quick end.

Even now, as she stared out her window preparing to go home, she could see the sun peek through the thinning clouds, making a spectacular rainbow.

Sighing with pleasure, she fetched her purse, turned out the lights and closed the door to her office. Her stride was brisk as she walked to the elevator.

The next morning shone wet and bright. There were large pools of water everywhere but the rising sun would soon have them dried up before noon. Cleanup of the city was already in full swing by the time the Mayor and Callie went to work later that morning.

"Mornin' Callae! I heard the news while I was eating breakfast. Can you tell me how much of it is true and how the citae faired after that terrible storm yesterday?" Mayor Manx asked as he made himself a cup of tea at his coffee bar.

"Fortunately, the news is good about the city storm damages, it was fairly light and cleanup is progressing quickly, and, as for the news, it was pretty accurate," Callie said in good spirits. She gave him a more in-depth report of what was happening around the city that morning and about the battle over the Enforcer Building yesterday.

"I haven't received a damage report from Commander Feral yet but expect it sometime this morning. I do know he suffered some significant damages to his flight line, control tower, and many windows but how bad it is, I'll just have to wait for his report," she finished.

Manx sighed and shook his head as he walked to his desk and sat down. "We certainly didn't need that damage on top of the ones the storm caused. We're going to be stretched thin in the treasury again this quarter."

"True, but it could have been much, much worse if not for the intervention of the dragons."

"I heard that! Was it true there were six dragons fighting Turmoil?"

"It was five and yes it was true. The SWAT Kats and the enforcers were seriously hampered by the storm but the dragons weren't bothered by it at all and their flames worked despite the heavy rain. I'm told they easily took out Turmoil's huge airship, reducing it to a lot of scrap metal that was barely flyable. She and her crew are in jail as we speak."

"Well, that is amazing. I guess they have their uses after all and saving the city money is a real boon," Manx said, pleased at the outcome. "So, perhaps, I was a bit hasty thinking they would be yet another problem on top of the omegas. Glad I was wrong!"

"I'm sure they would be grateful to hear you say that publically, Mayor Manx. Perhaps you should have a press conference telling the people what happened and how you support dragon kinds desire to be more openly who they are," Callie suggested.

"This might help stem the tide of panicked responses we're still receiving from Katizens on discovering dragons were hiding amongst us as Kats. Many are unreasonably upset about that fact and we have to stop that line of thought quickly and keep it from spreading to protest rally's or hate activity which could degenerate into a mob mentality very quickly. We are very lucky such hasn't occurred yet," Callie warned quietly.

Manx shuddered at the very thought of such a thing occurring...omega trouble was bad enough.

"We need to reemphasize the fact that dragons have lived among us for centuries with no real problems recorded. They just want to be themselves rather than hide. To make their case, telling the public what dragons did by assisting the enforcers to take out Dr. Viper and now, Turmoil would go a long ways toward showing their willingness to lend a paw to keep the city they share with us safe."

"Gadfrey! You're right Callae! Write me up a speech and set up the press conference right away while the news of what they did is fresh," he agreed, muttering an after thought to himself, "...and it couldn't hurt my image any either."

"I'm sure you're right about that Mayor. I'll get right on this...excuse me," she said, rolling her eyes mentally at the Mayor's usual self serving attitude before heading to her desk to set things up.

Around dinner time, after putting in a very busy day in the garage, Chance and Jake closed their shop for the evening. Jake took a paw at making huge sandwiches with a side of chips for dinner and they settled down before the TV to enjoy their meal.

Chance began to channel surf when a news report flashed on the screen at one of the stations he'd stopped at. He made a disgusted sound and was about to change the station again when Jake stopped him.

"Wait! I need to hear how the Mayor handled the appearance of all of us yesterday."

"Aw geez, Jake..." his partner sighed, annoyed but left the channel alone and picked up his sandwich, taking a big bite out of it as he listened to Ann Gora.

_"This is Ann Gora of Kats Eye News reporting live from city hall as Mayor Manx prepares to give a press conference on yesterday's happenings..."_

The cameras showed the Mayor standing on a podium in his news conference room which was packed with reporters. He signaled everyone for silence so the press conference could begin.

_"I am pleased to announce that yesterday's attack by that notorious air pirate, Turmoil was stopped by the Enforcers, the SWAT Kats and a flight of dragons. You heard me right! A flight of five dragons made quick work of taking down that huge air ship as well as destroying a fleet of some new kind of jet fighter that was picking apart Enforcer Headquarters._

_The terrible storm yesterday, severely hampered our enforcers during the battle but the dragons had no such problems as they wiped out the enemy jet fighters and for that I am very grateful. The storm caused enough damage without adding what Turmoil could have done to our fair citae!_

_As for the storm itself, our city workers have done a magnificent job of cleaning up the debris around the city. Damages were minimal due to the main brunt of the storm staying out at sea. We were very lucky there._

_I wish to say thank you from the city to the dragon population. Your aid was gratefully appreciated and I hope it will continue. I want to commend you in helping to capture Dr. Viper during that nasty incident not long ago as well. _

_I want to reemphasize to you, the public, that dragon kind have been living among us all these many decades with no problems reported. Just because they now choose to come out of hiding will not change the fact they weren't a threat to us in the first place. I urge my fellow Katizens to accept them as you already have done when they use their Kat_ _form. The only difference now is they can take their true form as well and not be forced to hide from us any longer._

_My final words are, welcome dragon kind and please feel free to fly the skies of your home once more as you were meant to," _Mayor Manx finished with a flourish.

_"...And there you have it folks! Mayor Manx has asked all Katizens to accept dragon kind with open arms because, as he said, they already have been living here and now they've shown what they can do to protect us from outside invaders and omegas. Who knows? They may even be able to finally get rid of our other omegas, something they couldn't do because they were in hiding. It does us a disservice to keep them in hiding. So I say to you, my fellow Kats...let them be who they are at last and stop being afraid of them. They have more to fear from us than we have from them. We have been their bane for centuries. Let us lead the world in accepting them once again into the fold that is Megakat City!" _Ann said in a ringing endorsement before the news switched to something else.

Jake sighed and allowed his partner to change the station. "Well, I certainly didn't expect such incredible support but I'm really pleased to see it. Hope that will convince more of my kind to get up the courage to be seen out and about in the skies once more."

"I doubt this one exposure and the endorsement by the city will encourage the more fearful of your kind to drop their centuries of hiding who they are, buddy," Chance said doubtfully, shaking his head.

Jake sighed, "I know but I can dream can't I?"

Chance just snorted and continued to shake his head as he surfed for something to watch.


	9. Chapter 9

**THERE BE DRAGONS!**

**Chapter 9: Discussing the Future**

Standing tensely against the back wall trying to keep away from the scene on the podium at the front of the room, the Commander listened dry-mouthed and shaking inside, to the Mayor's impassioned speech about allowing dragon kind the freedom to be themselves and live openly among Katkind once more.

When the press conference finished, he slipped out of the room into the hall heading to the deputy mayor's office to wait. He had to give her his report on the damages to Enforcer Headquarters before he could get out of here.

His mind was tightly wound up over this business of dragon kind openly revealing themselves. It frightened him! It flew in the face of all the dire warnings his father drummed into him and that his grandfather had reinforced before he'd died, leaving Feral all alone. What was he to do? He had no mentor to give him guidance on how he should act or what action he should take in the face of this new development.

Feeling lost and confused, he moved to look out the window at the city he'd guarded for the past fifteen years. Pride filled him as he mused on how, though only a hatchling, he had managed to learn how to behave like an adult in the Kat world and rise through the ranks of the enforcers to become a leader that managed to keep this city safe despite all the obstacles thrown in his path. It felt good and it provided him with an income that allowed him to live on his own.

'Not many hatchlings could claim that,' he thought smugly and it didn't hurt that the job also kept him too busy to feel the loss of having no family....most of the time.

But the momentary feeling of pleasure faded as he stared out over the city and realized dragons would soon be flying openly through the city canyons and there was nothing he could do about it. The uncertainty of how this would affect his job and him personally had him on edge.

Despite his family's adamant stance against revealing themselves to other dragons, they were gone and he was left with trying to decide if those original reasons even applied now under these new circumstances. He wished he knew.......he wished he had someone to ask what he should do now. Would contacting the dragon community help him or make his situation worse?

A voice spoke up behind him, making him nearly jump out of his fur...so deep was he in his own thoughts.

"Oh, hello Commander! I hadn't realized you were here," Ms. Briggs said briskly as she moved quickly to her desk.

He turned away from the window to face her, shoving his disturbed thoughts to the back of his mind and focused on the job he'd been hired to do which helped steady him a little.

"You wanted my report on the damages to Enforcer Headquarters and since I was supposed to be here for the press conference, I brought it with me," he said handing over a file.

"Thank you. I appreciate your promptness. Was the damage extensive?" Callie asked as she took a seat and began glancing through the report.

"Unfortunately, it is. The control tower lost all its windows, some of the electronics suffered serious damage, and there are new holes in the flight line again. Before Turmoil's forces were finally defeated, I lost my entire alpha flight.... twelve jets demolished, twenty-four officers deceased....putting a huge hole in our defenses," he said, bleakly but added, reluctantly, "however, the storm on top of Turmoil's new style jets could have decimated my entire force, so I guess things could have been much worse instead.

"Oh, Commander, I'm so sorry for your many losses.....that is cause for concern. But you're right, it truly could have been so much worse if it hadn't been for the dragons coming to our rescue. I shudder to think what things would have been like under that female pirate," Callie said grimly.

Feral scowled. "I know! It burns my tail that she manages to acquire such new and deadly technology so easily and I can't even get more modern jets the normal way. I really wish I could find out who designed and built those fast and versatile jets for her. It would give us a fighting chance against those omegas but, so far, neither Turmoil nor any of her officers are talking even after hours of interrogation," he growled, frustrated.

For once, Callie truly felt Feral's pain and frustration. It wasn't fair the Mayor spent the city's budget on frivolous projects while the enforcers were chronically shortchanged. Unfortunately, she couldn't give him what he needed except for this one time.

"I know how badly your forces need an increase in budget, Commander, but you know how tight the that is due to.....ah....a certain persons spending habits. However, because of all the publicity from 'dragon fever', the Mayor's standing in the polls has risen and city funds have received a mild recharge so he is willing to give you a magnanimous infusion of funds......." she began to say then paused at the sour look on Feral's face.

".....Yes, that's how I feel too but we'll both have to accept that's all he's going to do and make the best of it, " she finished, smiling wanly at him.

Feral snorted. "A more regular increase in our budget would help more than a one time glut of funds but I won't complain. I'll just try to get it to stretch enough to cover our immediate needs for now," he said in resignation.

"Well I hope that extra plus the insurance payment for repairing your building and jets will be enough. I'll push the finance office to cut you a check before day's end. Meanwhile, go ahead and order the repairs to begin and forward the bill as usual."

"Thank you. I'll give them a heads up." She smiled and nodded at him, returning to the pile of work on her desk while he took his leave.

As he stepped into the elevator and punched the button for the lobby, he shook his head at the capriciousness of Manx. With one paw the tom takes money away then miserly hands some back. Well, at least he hadn't had to fight for funds this time. That should have made him happy but his mind drifted back to the fruitless interrogation he'd spent three hours on last night trying to find out where Turmoil had gotten those jets.

His fists clenched in frustrated anger and he grumbled to himself. Those getting on and off the elevator as it headed to the lobby, eyed him nervously and gave him a wide berth.

He ignored them as he thought about how the many budget cuts and lack of modern upgrades continually kept his enforcers always at a disadvantage against those damn omegas. Unbidden came the words of Ann Gora when she mentioned dragon kind might be able to take care of the omegas for the city much easier than the enforcers.

That pricked his pride and inflamed his temper knowing no one seemed to think his enforcers could do anything right when it came to the omegas. No one complained about their abilities to keep gang lords and minor criminals under control but when it came to the omegas.......it was a vote of no confidence. But it wasn't their fault.......he wanted to cry out.

The elevator finally reached the lobby and the doors opened. As he stalked across the lobby, making his way outside and down the broad staircase to his hummer parked in its designated spot, he reminded himself that Ms. Briggs' paws were constantly tied by Mayor Manx.

He'd been surprised to see how much she did sympathized with his plight. That was new! He should be thrilled to be getting this unexpected support and the extra funds, but he couldn't shake the loss of reputation the budget shortages had already caused him. It was soo unfair.......the lack of confidence in his enforcers and the dragon reveal.......both conspired to make him anxious, angry and sick at heart.

Climbing into his hummer, he slowly pulled out into traffic and headed back to his office where a report filled desk similar to Ms. Briggs' waited for him. It would be a long afternoon and, possibly, a long evening as he needed to get the repairs started, hold a meeting with his squadron leaders on how to replace the lost pilots and crews, plus plan on how to best utilize the extra funds they would be getting.

_**Around midnight..........**_

In the high mountains above the city, the moon rose in the heavens and cast an eerie light over the landscape. Shadows of huge flying creatures scudded across the moonlit sky heading toward a certain destination among the rocky crags and peaks.

Adair rode the warm evening currents, enjoying the air flowing over his wings as he flew toward the dragon's meeting place. Circling a few times, as was his habit, to ensure no one was observing him, Adair found the surrounding airspace free of anyone so felt safe to head directly for the hidden entrance.

At his approach the door in the mountain side slide silently open and he drifted into the huge entryway, the door closing behind him. Landing inside, he walked easily over the rough surfaced, black flooring of the wide and high ceilinged corridor toward the huge central chamber.

A large ornate door slid open and the sound of dragon voices raised in conversation or play struck his ears. He stepped through the entryway and stopped to look around a moment.

There were three young and one older dragon lounging in the heated fountain. Among the long tiers of rock seating that lined the walls, dragons sat in pairs or small groups, playing games, conversing, or watching hatchlings play. Smiling to himself, Adair headed for a small group of older dragons sitting and laying on the highest tiers in the room where it was the warmest and quietest, relaxing and talking.

"Adair! Welcome! I'd hoped to see you tonight," Trimaris said jovially. The others with him gave the red dragon similar warm welcomes and made room for him near them.

Sighing in pleasure at being in a safe place with his own kind, Adair settled himself in a slouched position, wings folded, body relaxed as he soaked up the heat and ambiance. "I take it you've all heard the news?"

Lethgorin, an old chestnut colored dragon, snorted in amusement. "How could we miss it with all the TV stations carrying the Mayor's speech on all channels and every news rag having full spreads on the subject."

"Yeah, it did cause a lot of excitement among the Kats but how do you all feel about it?" Adair asked, more seriously.

"Well it seems, on the surface, that you may have been right about how Kats might react to us but I feel its still too early to truly know if we'll be accepted completely or not. So I'd rather wait and watch for awhile longer," Trimaris said cautiously.

"Yes I know this is but a quick hurrah that could be forgotten quickly by Kat kind that is why its so vitally important we are seen flying around out in the open. Frequency is the key to getting the Kats used to us and accepting that we are not going away anytime soon. If we don't, the whole 'revealing' will be for naught," Adair objected, a bit forcefully, reverting to the old English style of speech in his distress.

"I understand this but dragon kind had a very good reason for hiding in the first place as you very well know. Just because we have finally found a city that might be more amendable to us doesn't mean we should throw caution to the winds. The past has taught us that lesson only too well and following it is what has kept us alive all these centuries," Trimaris reminded him, gently but firmly.

"I'm not advocating throwing out caution, I'm only suggesting that we take this opportunity to live like normal people once again but stay alert. Hiding is unhealthy, clearly proven by our much reduced numbers," Adair reminded him. "If we must return to hiding, we have to try and use this time of temporary openess to gather all those who have broken all contact with dragon kind and return them to the community."

Trimaris winced. Adair had a valid point but it was hard to set aside centuries of caution and fear. "You are right, of course. That is an important goal to attain while the time is right, but, Adair.....trying to change a mind set of many centuries simply won't happen overnight. The older the dragon, the more they will cling to the old ways. Change is frightening."

"I know, truly I do. That's why it will be the younger ones and some of us more adventurous older souls that will lead the way to our ultimate freedom," Adair said in ringing tones. "I'm not fool enough to think all dragon kind nor Katkind even, will embrace this new way of life. There will always be the fearful, the bigoted, and ones that will hate us no matter what we do or say, but we can't let that stop us from at least making the attempt."

Adair shifted his body into a more comfortable position before continuing. "Our biggest problem right now is obstruction from some of those nay sayers among us against those that wish to make this effort. I need you to help enforce the laws of our kind that state, 'everyone has a right to seek their own path and no one may impede them in that right'. Also, I'm very concerned on how the lost ones will be treated if we manage to convince them to return to the fold. Many of them will be hostile, confused, and afraid. We need some kind of plan for how we are going to ease them back into the community without causing too much stress on both sides."

Trimaris eyed the red dragon thoughtfully. Adair was the most brilliant thinker of his generation. His intelligent mind and mild psychic abilities, were what helped this community remain healthy and strong. His words carried a lot of weight and were never discounted so no one should be stonewalling his efforts except for the few he knew about. Were there more problems than he'd been aware of?

The elder dragon hoped not because the success or failure here in Megakat City would decide if dragons would go back to hiding, slowly fading away into extinction because breeding would be severely restricted or finally living free to increase their numbers. Despite being able to take Kat form, they could not breed that way which was why finding the lost ones was soo very important to their continued survival.

"Has there been negative talk about saving the lost ones that make you say that?" He asked in concern after many long minutes had passed.

"There's been some among the middle aged and a small number of the younger hot heads," Sushimi, a green colored dragon, admitted, slowly.

"But that's so stupid!" The blue dragon, Marin exclaimed. "Everyone is aware that without the lost ones, we can't increase our breeding numbers and we'll gradually cease to exist. What is so hard to understand?"

"Fear! That's what's keeping them from listening," the copper colored dragon, Comack interjected solemnly.

"So how do we ease their fears?" Marin demanded.

"By continuing to show them that Katkind is ready to accept us," Adair told them. "For that to work, we must be more visible. As for the lost ones......I'm hoping as they watch us flying freely in the open and how the Kats treat us, they may reach out to us. We must be ready for that. We also must have some method set up to counsel and aid them in adjusting to being in a community which some of them have never been a part of before."

"Oh come on! It can't be that simple Adair!" Byron, a gold dragon, snorted derisively.

"Of course not! But if we solve the problem with the omegas.....getting rid of them more permanently.....Kat kind will be grateful to us and it will show the lost ones that its safe to come out again. Don't forget! This city has been under siege for years so finally being free of that threat so they can live in peace once more will make them grateful to us which will allow them to accept our presence more easily."

"I agree with Adair. We can't go on as we have been for centuries. We're revealed now and it would be difficult to hide again at least for some of us who have already enjoyed the free air once more. We need to coax others to reveal themselves more and perhaps some of them could join us in removing the omega threat. The rest of the plan should fall into place much easier after that," Sushimi urged them.

"Yeah! I agree! I loved flying in that wicked storm and helping to take out that pirate she-kat and her forces felt great. It made me feel useful!" Marin enthused.

Comack grinned wolfishly. "Yeah, I have to admit that was exciting and the most fun I've had in a century."

"Sounds like we all had a good time taking out the bad guys and partaking in such a grand battle. I believe Adair has the right idea.....free the Kats from these constant threats and they should be grateful to us. If you're looking for volunteers, Adair, count me in for the next omega hunt," Byron interjected, grinning evilly and showing plenty of fang.

Adair could only grin in amusement at his companion's obvious enthusiasm. He'd been surprised and pleased they had come to his aid when he fought Turmoil. He hoped they'd continue to show such enthusiasm when the worst of the omegas made an appearance.

Trimaris eyed the group of dragons showing support for Adair. "Well, since you're all set to do this, I will do what I can to continue convincing our fellow dragons that this is the best for all of us. Some are very hardheaded and may never see things our way but for everyone of those, there will be many others that will see this is the way of the future for dragons. I just hope your plan to help the Kats against their enemies will make them grateful enough to be our friends."

"Well there will be holdouts on both sides that will remain obstinately opposed to us being friendly to one another but there is nothing we can say or do to change those mind sets, I'm afraid. But if we can sway the majority of the population in both camps we can consider the plan a success," Adair said quietly.

"Then I'll do my best to try and head off any trouble from the ones upset by this change. If all of you will keep me informed of any serious dissension before it becomes a dangerous problem, I'll let it be known that harassing the volunteers is detrimental to the well being of all dragon kind. I know it sounds trite but there's nothing else I could say to them that will make any difference to those that will not see."

Adair smiled, giving the oldest a warm hug. "That will be just fine. At least you will be alert to trouble and we'll continue to make this plan work. I truly feel we are on the right track and the future of dragon kind will be decided by the end of it."

"I hope so, Adair. I truly hope so," Tremaris sighed then asked, "You didn't, by any chance, have a precognition about this?"

The red dragon looked a bit uncomfortable when his friends stared at him in hope and concern at what he might say.

"Uh.....well not a precog really.....more like a strong feeling we are on the right path," he said uneasily.

"That's good enough for me!" Marin said feelingly.

The others nodded their heads in agreement. All feeling better about their decisions since Adair's psychic-laced feelings had always been very accurate.

Adair could only blush in embarrassment at everyone's confidence in him. It scared him a little to have everyone hold him that accountable for what their future would hold. Trimaris gave him a reassuring pat on his back.

"You'll do fine! Don't doubt yourself now," he murmured for Adair's ears only.

"I'll try not to. I want this to work for all our sakes, both Kats and dragons," Adair said softly, praying that all his efforts would pay off.


	10. Chapter 10

**THERE BE DRAGONS!**

**Chapter 10: Hidden Danger**

The alert came to him by way of a panicked and frightened Comack.

Jake and Chance were working in their garage on a cloudy day some weeks after the defeat of Turmoil. Dragons were still not seen flying about and Jake could only sigh and stew about it to his friend.

Today, though, they had plenty of work to do, so Jake's mind was focused on repairing the old lady Kat's car at the rear of the garage, the radio was playing loudly in the background. Chance was replacing a water pump on an enforcer rig closer to the entrance.

The song that had been playing was suddenly interrupted and a news Kat's voice excitedly broke in with an announcement that immediately grabbed Jake's attention.

_"Reports of a copper colored dragon flying in almost desperate seeming circles around the city are pouring into the enforcers and the radio stations. No one seems to know what the dragon is apparently looking for but its causing a bit of a problem with the city inhabitants...while some are frightened, others are excited and it's these folks that are clogging roads and sidewalks to catch a glimpse of it..."_

Chance's head had come up out of the engine to eye his partner in concern. "What the heck?"

"I don't know, but I better find out," Jake said grimly, wiping his paws off quickly then running outside. He looked around quickly as he continued to run through the salvage yard gate and down the deserted street for about a block or two before he deemed it safe enough to alter his form.

Flying high, he paused when he reached the altitude he wanted then bugled loudly. Over Megakat Park, Comack heard him and raced toward Adair.

By now, the enforcer patrols were homing in on Comack only to have him suddenly kick into high gear and fly upward at a fast rate of speed. The choppers could not follow him as he reached an altitude they weren't meant to fly in.

Less than fifteen minutes later, Comack caught up with Adair, his manner frantic.

"Oh thank the stars, I finally found you. Hurry! We must get to our sanctuary immediately before it is too late!" Comack urgently spat out as he wheeled about and took off before Adair could respond.

Frowning in worry, Adair quickly followed until he caught up with Comack. As they raced along, he asked what was going on.

"We're being attacked by what appears to be a Kat in a strange flying ship."

"What? What does this ship look like?" Adair asked quickly, his heart pounding in fear.

"Sort of like a big black spider and..."

"Noooo...it's Dark Kat!" Adair screamed in terror. "Comack, I've got to get my partner! Only the fire power of the Turbokat can take out this fiend!"

"What?...No...You can't bring a Kat to our sanctuary location..and what do you mean partner?" Comack cried, stopping his flight so suddenly that Adair over flew him and had to spin around and return.

"There's no time. I'm a SWAT Kat and the sanctuary is not visible! T-Bone won't know there's something hidden there unless someone shows it to him and I'm not about to!" Adair shouted. "But to fight this omega will take the technology I've built plus the dragon's fire to defeat him! Now go and warn the others to try and push Dark Kat away from our home to better hide its location and I'll return as fast as I can!" Without saying another word, Adair turned about and flew as fast as he could back to the salvage yard.

Comack stared after him in shock and confusion for a long moment. Adair was a SWAT Kat? That was incredible news but like he'd said, there was no time for that, the fight to save his brethren was more important, but later when this was over he would demand an explanation. He rushed away, hoping he would make it in time before anyone was killed.

Flying at his top speed got Adair back to the garage in less then ten minutes. Seeing no one near, he dared to land in the yard and altered back. He ran to the garage, shouting for his partner.

"Chance!"

His tabby friend poked his head out of the garage, a frown of concern and surprise on his face.

"Dark Kat!" Was all Jake shouted as he reached his friend then continued past him to the back of the garage.

His face grave, Chance quickly closed the garage door, posted their sign then hurried after his already disappearing partner. As they dressed quickly, the tabby demanded, "is this why that dragon was circling the city?"

"Yes! Dark Kat is attacking them."

Chance froze in shock. "But how did he know how to find them?"

"I don't know!" Razor said tightly then he paused and gave his friend a hard look. "T-Bone! You are forbidden to know the location of our sanctuary. By now, Comack will have told the others to push Dark Kat away from it so when we get there you will not be able to pinpoint its exact location. It will be bad enough that you'll have a general idea so you must promise me to never speak of it to anyone, not even other dragons! This is for your safety and ours!"

T-Bone stared at his friend for a only a moment before nodding his understanding. "I promise. I know how vital it is that your kind have somewhere to feel safe."

"Thanks, now let's go!"

The two raced for the jet and quickly boarded. In a matter of minutes, they were soon zooming out of the hangar and racing across the sky with all engines pouring on the power.

When they arrived at the nightmarish scene, Dark Kat's fear ship was hemmed in by no less than twenty dragons. They were flaming it with all they had but it was having no effect due to the ship's upgraded shielding capabilities. Dark Kat, meanwhile, was attempting to pick off the dragons and push closer to the mountain area they were guarding but the dragons were too swift for him to land a shot on so they continued to successfully keep him at bay, but just barely.

Razor cried out involuntarily when at least two dragons got their wings severely singed and fell from the sky. Others quickly helped the injured ones to safety so Razor didn't need to worry about them but that didn't stop him from feeling anger at their pain. He was furious and translated that emotion into action.

"T-Bone, take a high position above the fear ship...try not to let him see you!" He gritted, studying his weapons panel.

"Roger!"

As the Turbokat got into position, above and behind the fear ship, the dragons, though surprised and not very happy about more Kats being near their home, still obligingly pulled back enough to avoid getting injured by whatever the jet was going to do.

Razor shot a scrambler missile toward the ship. Unlike the one he'd used before, this one was seriously amped up to pierce the shields...he hoped!

The missile splashed against the shield and for a second it seemed nothing was going to happen, but then sparks flared forming a corona of volatile energy before exploding causing the ship to wobble quite a bit before stabilizing. Knowing his defenses had been breached, Dark Kat broke off his attack and veered away, firing a brace of missiles in his wake to discourage tails.

Without prompting, T-Bone tore away after it while Razor took out the missiles so they wouldn't hurt the dozen or so dragons following them. Dark Kat headed further north away from the city and began navigating through the towering mountain peaks to try and shake his pursuers.

Joining the chase as he past the city heading for the mountains was a squadron of enforcer jets, increasing the number of angry defenders chasing Dark Kat's tail.

Furious, Dark Kat sent more missiles toward his back trail, trying to decimate his enemies. He managed to take out a few more dragons and several enforcer jets but the rest doggedly continued their pursuit. His next attempt to dissuade his chasers was to drop down below the mountain peaks so that he could blast the walls of the mountain sides as he passed. This had a more effective and devastating result, reducing the enforcers to only four jets but the dragons had managed to swoop out of the way, much to his disgust, however they had reduced to only six which were better odds for him.

The dragon's flames singed his fear ship but couldn't breach it. Even Razor wasn't having much luck penetrating it enough to cause real harm. It was obvious Dark Kat had seriously beefed up his ship's outer hull appreciably as well as made the ship highly maneuverable so he was able to avoid much of the missile barrage being fired at him by the Turbokat and the choppers.

By now the chase had changed direction again, as Dark Kat tried to head toward the city itself. No way did the SWAT Kats nor Feral want that to happen so they stepped up their attack, hammering the fear ship with everything they had.

Hissing to himself in frustrated anger, Dark Kat changed directions once more, this time heading for the chain of volcanoes just south of their present location. He pushed his fear ship to its limits as he made for a specific mountain peak. In less than five minutes, he reached his destination and dived into a huge cave entrance.

Before his pursuers could follow, a massive door slid down with a boom. Frustrated, the allies halted their headlong flight and hovered outside the hideout trying to decide what to do next.

T-Bone and Razor knew Dark Kat had a massive fortress hidden behind those mountain walls and the omega would soon be directing all his considerable resources at them any minute now. What was worse, the evil Kat could now attack them with impunity while he remained safe inside. They had to get in or destroy the whole place completely.

Toward that end, Razor chose to launch a serious barrage of missiles at any weak spot he could find in the mountain attempting to breach the hideout's defenses.

Parking his fear ship, Dark Kat left it and swiftly stalked across the rock floor of his mountain home, his creeplings chittering in excitement and fear around him. Reaching his bank of controls, he called up his exterior sensors so he could see what his enemies were doing.

Suddenly, the whole place shook, sending his creeplings shrieking and heading for the ceiling. He saw what the SWAT Kats were trying to do and sneered at their attempts by firing a special laser at them.

Outside, Feral and his few jets had joined forces with the Turbokat in firing everything he still had aboard at the mountain door. The dragons flew close and did the same until the whole mountain shook and glowed from the flaring heat of the dragon's fiery breath. They were making some headway breaking through the massive door when Dark Kat attacked.

Bursts of blue lightning shot up from a hidden gun port in the mountain, quickly making sushi of the last of the enforcer jets, forcing Feral and his enforcers to bail out of their badly damaged jets that could no longer sustain flight.

The dragons avoided the beam as best they could, their flames only able to hold it at bay but not force it back to its owner. The Turbokat roared into place and Razor took careful aim with his own Mega Laser, managing to destroy the beam, taking a ton of rock off the mountain as well which cascaded down into the valley below.

Inside his fortress, Dark Kat screamed in impotent fury. "No! I had it planned soo well! The dragon colony should have been dead. Those miserable SWAT Kats shouldn't have known of my attack nor the enforcers. How did they find out?" He fumed angrily.

"No matter! I've decimated enough of them my next trick should take out the rest of those annoying pests once and for all!" He snarled as he reached out and pushed a certain button on his control panel.

From a hidden launch pad, a huge, oddly shaped, missile fired up and raced out of the silo it was nestled in. It reached the outside seeking its target...the Turbokat!

"Razor!"

"I see it! My instruments tell me it's another one of those heat seeking types!" Razor said tightly, immediately sending a plain old missile at this new and deadly weapon heading for them.

Unfortunately, his missile was shredded easily leaving the deadly payload still on their tail. T-Bone did his best to try and keep ahead of it but it was a losing battle.

"I can't keep this up, Razor and it's getting closer and I'm not sure Plan Z is going to work this time!"

"You're right there, that leave only one thing left since my weapons aren't affecting it..." he said, more to himself than his partner, as he prepared to leave the cockpit. Yelling over his shoulder one last instruction, "keep away from that thing until we take it out...," he was gone.

"Nooo, Razor don't..." T-Bone cried out but it was too late. Moments later, he spotted the red dragon flying to the rear of the jet. "God! Be safe buddy!" He murmured a desperate prayer as he continued to keep the Turbokat out of reach of the missile.

Once in free air, Adair bugled for his compatriots and they quickly responded to his call. Flying close they waited to hear what he had to say.

"We're going to concentrate our fire on that missile but remain safely back so the backlash of its explosion won't harm us...let's go!" He ordered.

The others fell in behind Adair as they raced to catch up to the beleaguered Turbokat. Getting within a twenty mile radius of the missile, the dragons fanned out into a line and, at Adair's command, fired in unison. It took a solid five minutes of continuous fire to finally destroy the missile.

The concussion from its destruction sent dragons flailing backwards through the air as well as sending the Turbokat into an uncontrolled spin before T-Bone was able to regain control once more.

Recovering, the dragons gathered together once more with the Turbokat hovering above them.

"What do we do about that omega? He's hold up pretty good in that mountain," Byron asked Adair.

"Dig him out!" Adair growled. "And I have just the thing in the jet to accomplish that. You guys take a high position and pick off any escapees from within as they try to flee. Kill the pink creatures but not the Kats dressed in all black clothing, got it?"

"Gotcha!" Comack agreed, taking off without further questions as Adair wheeled away to head back to the jet while his fellow dragons gaped at the red dragon's retreating back in confusion.

Through their minds ran one question, 'what does he mean return to the jet?' Giving each other a troubled look they decided to shelve that concern until they had time to address it then tore off to catch up with Comack.

The Turbokat held its position as Adair flew in close then reentered the jet in one of those quick alter and roll moves he normally used. Within seconds he was once more back in his seat.

"Glad you guy's fire was able to take out that missile, buddy. What do we try next to ferret out Dark Kat?" T-Bone asked.

"Take us back! We're going to dig him out using my mole missile!" Razor growled.

"Oh, like we did that last time to get into his hideout!" His friend said, pleased, as he quickly raced back to the volcano in question.

"Yeah, like that time, but I'm not just going to make one hole...I'm going to make Swiss cheese of his mountain."

T-Bone laughed darkly. "Great idea then the mountain will come down on him!"

That's the idea!" Razor said, coldly, setting up the boring device and his missiles that did the same thing, for the assault to come.


	11. Chapter 11

**THERE BE DRAGONS!**

**Chapter 11: The Final Assault Brings a Deadly Surprise**

Very soon the Turbokat was back at Dark Kat's hideout. The mountain entrance was blocked by debris from the previous attack. It was certain, Dark Kat wouldn't be escaping through there but the wily omega always had many escape routes. The dragons took up their positions high above the hideout, on the alert for any that tried to escape as the SWAT Kats began a direct assault against the mountain.

"Here's what I want you to do, buddy. Move us around in a close pattern after I make each bore hole in the mountain until we've made a number of holes in one side before moving to another side of this mountain, that is, if its necessary," Razor instructed.

"Roger...first target acquired," T-Bone acknowledged as he brought the jet in close and allowed Razor to fire the first of many boring missiles they would put in the mountain.

As soon as the first was launched, T-Bone moved to the next target. Over the next five minutes, Razor shot no less than ten missiles which had made a mess of the north side of the mountain where the door had been, causing it to shake apart and fall. They quickly moved on to the next side...the east face and began again.

Inside the mountain, Dark Kat was preparing to evacuate his hideout so he could plan anew when his mountain shook violently. Loud booming noises penetrated the interior letting him know what was causing the upheaval.

"Noooooo..." he roared. His screens were down so he couldn't determine exactly what the SWAT Kats were doing but knew he had to get out of there quickly. It was only too obvious that insufferable pair had escaped his relentless missile, probably with the help of those dragons. He was certain the mountain was surrounded now while the SWAT Kats made holes in his hideaway.

As he stood indecisively, his creeplings screamed in terror, taking any bolthole they could find to escape and being fried the moment they emerged by the waiting dragons. His ninjas abandoned their leader and tried to escape by an underground river bolt hole only to be picked up by an alert dragon and hauled off, boat and all, to another mountain peak with steep sides and no escape while their captor returned to the battle.

Finding all his escape routes blocked and his minions abandoning him, something in Dark Kat snapped! He roared and altered for the first time since his youth. A huge black dragon spewed flames at a wall of his prison and escaped through the river bolt hole.

Outside, Razor continued his single minded assault on the mountain until T-Bone's shout of alarm penetrated his concentration, "what tha?...Razor a black dragon is attacking your friends!"

"What?" Razor jerked his head up from his targeting screen to stare out his window. Not far from their position, an unknown dragon was attacking his friends. He watched in horror as two of them fell screaming in pain from flames and rips that had injured their wings badly, their bodies spiraling toward the ground far below.

Roaring in fury, Razor abandoned his seat for the cargo hold without warning his partner. In seconds, he was flying straight for the attacker.

T-Bone pulled the jet away from the mountain when he realized his partner had left the jet. He spotted the red dragon arrowing for the black dragon. By his partner's aggressive behavior, the stranger was unknown and an enemy by his behavior. Unable to help his partner, he looked around to see if Dark Kat was trying to escape but didn't see him. What did catch his eye were four dragons falling toward the ground.

Two were not flying at all, while the other two were desperately trying to save them by slipping their arms under their wing muscles then frantically flapping their own wings to slow their descent.

T-Bone could only imagine what kind of pain the injured pair were in so decided to lend a paw. He sent the Turbokat racing downward toward the clustered group, passing them then going to VTOL and hovering as close as he dared with his cargo hold door open, beckoning the floundering dragons to board. He hoped they understood what he was trying to do.

Comack saw the Turbokat begin to parallel them with its hold doors open. Sighing in relief, he called over to Byron. "He's helping us! Carry Marin aboard!" Following his own instructions, Comack carried Sushimi into the Turbokat. After only a moment more of hesitation, Byron did the same.

They laid both their injured friends on the deck.

"We've got to go back to help Adair, you'll be safe here with his partner," Comack said then turned and flew back out of the jet.

Returning his friends confused look, Byron shrugged then followed Comack.

When T-Bone saw the two uninjured dragons leave the jet only then did he close the cargo doors. Sighing in relief, the tabby pilot flew the Turbokat to a safer altitude then went to VTOL again.

Giving the battle below a quick glance, he saw Adair was holding his own and still no sign of Dark Kat. The other two dragons were just reaching Adair's side. Thinking he had a moments breather, he put the jet on autopilot and dropped down into the hold to check on his passengers

"Hi, my name's T-Bone and I'm a friend of Adair's. Are you guys going to be alright? Any idea who that black dragon is?" He asked the pair resting on the cargo floor and licking their wounds.

"No! He's not part of our community. He must be a lost one!" Marin said.

"That's what I thought. Look, are you guys going to be okay enough for me to see if Adair needs my help?"

"Yes, we'll be fine, the injuries aren't that bad, just enough to prevent flying. Thank you for giving us a lift. We are a bit surprised and amazed to learn Adair is a SWAT Kat though. There's going to be a lot of questions asked of him when this all over. Anyway, he is important to our community so do what you can to keep him from getting himself killed," Sushimi said.

"He's even more important to me and I always watch his back...no matter what form he's in. You two just take it easy though the ride will probably get very bumpy at times," T-Bone warned them before quickly returning to his seat.

Looking out his cockpit once more, T-Bone was horrified to see Adair and the black dragon locked together. Their claws had pierced each others chest, blood flowed freely as they used their feet and teeth to do more damage. Their wings flapped hard to keep them in the air as they struggled to win out against the other.

The two still healthy dragons flew around the pair, trying to disable the black dragon or distract it enough for the red to end the attack with a kill strike but the black dragon was in a killing rage and wouldn't be distracted.

Needing to end this stalemate, Comack dared get close enough to rip at one black wing while Byron dropped lower and grabbed the tail and yanked...hard. Roaring in fury, the black gave Adair a vicious bite to the face then turned his head enough to spray a gout of flame into Comack's side making him scream and let go. To get Byron off, the black kicked out with a foot, using the spur on the back of his heel to stab the gold dragon in the shoulder. Crying out, Byron let go, blood dripping down his chest.

Nearly blind with fury, Adair did try and snatch the black's throat when the head raised upward but the black snapped his head to the side making the red miss. The black roared and tried to strike Adair in the face with his fangs again but the red was quicker this time, yanking his head down and using his crest to smack the black in the snout.

When he reared back in pain, Adair slashed the black's inner right thigh with his heel spur. The black roared and turned its head to try for a throat bite but Adair was there first, lunging forward to rip the neck enough to make it bleed profusely but not kill.

T-Bone badly wanted to fire a missile at the black dragon but his partner was far too close so all he could do was watch and grit his teeth in frustration. The other pair of injured dragons floated nearby watching for a chance to interfere again but the black was too alert and fast so all they could do was the same as the pilot...watch and hope!

On the ground some fifteen minutes earlier, forgotten by everyone, was Commander Feral. He had parachuted to safety as did his other four enforcers. He'd seen their chutes but they all landed some distance apart from each other due to the many trees below them. His helmet radio was broken in the fall so he couldn't call for help nor locate the rest of his troops. With nothing else he could do, he decided to trudge back to Dark Kat's hideout, arriving in time to see the assault by the Turbokat.

He watched helplessly, wishing he had a jet right now. Suddenly, a burst of flame erupted from very low on the mountain side opposite the Turbokat's attack. Following the flames was a huge black dragon. Feral gaped in shock.

The black dragon roared then headed for the circling dragons, attacking two of them viciously. Though shocked, Feral knew this could only be Dark Kat. No one else could have been hiding in that mountain and there was no other sign of the omega.

'Kat's Alive! Who would have guessed he'd be one of us. No wonder he was so difficult to defeat!' He thought in dazed dismay.

He watched as the Turbokat and the few dragons that were left moved in on the black dragon. Dark Kat was no push over and quickly proved it by taking out two of the other dragons quickly. Two others raced to rescue the falling pair while from above a red dragon suddenly appeared and ploughed into the black one with stunning force.

The battle was joined, the pair, apparently, evenly matched. Feral paid no heed to the Turbokat's errand of mercy, his focus solely on the battle over his head. He didn't notice his fists were clenched in helpless rage. As he continued to watch, he saw two other dragons appear and attempt to help the red dragon and be hurt in turn.

Something within him urged him to come to the aid of the red dragon! The past decade or so of his life had been dedicated to keeping this city safe and the black dragon was a serious threat to that safety both as the omega Dark Kat and as a rogue dragon.

This was something he understood and believed in. This threat had to be stopped now...but how? He had no jet, chopper nor back up...but he wasn't completely helpless if he was willing to reveal what he'd been trained to keep secret...could he now be what he truly was to insure the safety of all?

A resounding yes filled his brain. With that declaration, the mental deadlock that held him captive was gone. In seconds, he transformed into a golden dragon for the first time since he was very young. Bugling a challenge, he launched himself from the ground and flew straight at the entangled pair.

Hovering helplessly near the grim battle, T-Bone witnessed another golden dragon joining the battle. 'Where the heck did he come from," he wondered. Dismayed, he was afraid it was going to attack Adair but in the next instant he saw that wasn't the case.

Bringing the jet close but not interfering, he watched as the golden dragon came in behind the black and grabbed its wings, digging long sharp claws into the membranes and pulling them mercilessly backward.

Byron and Comack stared in shocked surprise. 'Who the heck was this?' They both wondered. 'Well, whoever he is, he's a nasty little fighter,' Byron thought, admiringly.

The black dragon screamed in pain, lunged at the red's face to make him turn away and when he did, the black sent a burst of flame at the golden holding him, but he missed as the younger dragon ducked the flames while continuing to hamstring him.

Adair was surprised by the appearance of yet another lost one but didn't let it distract him. He used the golden's assault to end the battle. He snapped his head forward while the black's neck was turned and tore his throat out.

Unable to scream, the black's eyes rolled up as death struck instantly, blood pouring from his throat.

"Release him!" Adair commanded, removing his own claws from the body.

Responding instantly, the golden released its hold on the black's wings. The body plummeted swiftly toward the unforgiving ground. It's body crashing through trees, which battered it mercilessly, before it impacted the forest floor with a thud.

Sighing in relief, T-Bone hurriedly flew the Turbokat toward a clearing not far from the downed black dragon. Byron, Comack, Adair, and the golden flew down as well, landing close to the body. They watched as the Turbokat set down, the canopy slid back and T-Bone leap down. The tabby came running toward them but halted just short of the clearing not wanting to interfere in what was dragon business.

The group turned their attention to the body laying at their feet. The strange golden dragon investigated the body first, leaning its long neck down to check to see if the black was still alive, which was highly unlikely.

"He's dead," he intoned quietly, rising up then stepping back to allow the older dragon to check as well.

"Yeah, that's a definite. Wonder who he was?" Adair mused, thoughtfully, wincing from his many wounds which were still bleeding a lot and soaking the ground beneath him.

"It's Dark Kat!" The golden said with certainty.


	12. Chapter 12

**THERE BE DRAGONS!**

**Chapter 12: Another Shocking Surprise**

Adair snapped his head up and stared at the lost one sharply but before he could question him, T-Bone spoke up first.

"Dark Kat was a dragon?" He blurted, his tone an equal measure of shock and doubt.

"You saw him change?" Adair demanded, equally doubtful.

"I saw him come out of the mountain. Since Dark Kat works alone and trusts no one but his creeplings, it couldn't be anyone else," the golden stated knowledgeably.

Adair frowned suspiciously then moved swiftly to loom over the hatchling, catching the golden by surprise. The red dragon coldly asked, "...and just who are you to know this so well? You're far too young to be out alone in the first place."

Feral tensed at the hint of a threat in the older dragon's tone but didn't back down. He was furious at himself for falling into this position. He knew better!

'Curse me for a fool! I shouldn't have let my sense of duty overwhelm my caution. Why didn't I just leave quickly, change form, then meet them here? What was I thinking?' He ranted to himself.

The only thing he could think of for his irrational behavior was his intense need to meet another dragon which had succeeded in high jacking his good sense at a really bad time. He should leave...now...before the elder began asking questions he didn't want to answer. His eyes flitted away, looking for an out.

Adair caught the furtive glance and moved instantly, swiftly swinging his right wing to swat the hatchling off his feet. The golden hit the ground on his back, wings splayed. Before he could lunge back up, Adair was on him, pressing the younger dragon to the forest floor and using his paws to pin the wings down.

Panic stricken, Feral immediately used his enforcer training to kick out with his feet, sending the adult flying backwards off him but again, he underestimated the skills of the elder. Honed through many battles over the centuries, Adair was a seasoned warrior and no hatchling, no matter their training, could match him, even when he was wounded.

Which was why Adair recovered from the kick so quickly and easily snatched the golden by the tail just as the hatchling was taking his first flap of wings toward freedom. He yanked the golden back to the ground...hard, pinning him once more to the ground but face down this time. Adair held the golden's wrists in each paw while his legs crossed over each ankle, allowing his heavier body mass to effectively prevent the hatchling from rising.

Now firmly pinned, young dragon's terror over rode any sense he'd had, sending him into a blind panic, struggling madly to tear himself free. Adair waited patiently until the golden finally realized he couldn't escape. It took more than five minutes but eventually, the hatchling ceased struggling, leaving him trembling and panting, eyes wide in terror.

Lowering his head until it was close to the golden's face, Adair, flashing fangs, hissed coldly, "who are you?"

Feral could only whimper in fear, turning his face away and closing his eyes. In his mind, he was back in the past when either his father or grandfather would punish him for some transgression.

Adair frowned in concern. There seemed to be too much of a fear response to such a simple question...anger or refusal he expected but outright terror...no. A sudden feeling of pity swept through the red dragon.

Though he needed to find out how this dragon knew so much about Dark Kat and where his family was, he didn't want to terrorize the hatchling to get it. It was possible the golden might be a get of Dark Kat's but then why aid the enemies of his parent? What was his motive? None of this made any sense. And then there was the question of how a hatchling possessed the fighting skills he had witnessed.

Changing tactics, Adair softened his tone,"I'm sorry to be so harsh with you, young one but you must admit your knowledge about Dark Kat is suspicious as is your fighting skills. Who are you hatchling? Where is your family?"

Watching from the sidelines, T-Bone had been taken aback by his partner's rather brutal treatment of one that had helped them. He wondered what the importance of who the dragon's family was but, assumed, it was because of the plan by the dragons to bring their lost ones back to the community. However, if this was how Adair was going to go about it, T-Bone didn't think anyone would be coming forward any time soon.

Byron and Comack eyed the scene critically. The hatchling's behavior disturbed them, but it bothered Comack more than his friend as he had, unfortunately, seen this kind of reaction before. It was about fifty years ago, but he would never forget it.

A father had beaten and punished his hatchling so severely both emotionally and physically, that the youngster retaliated by becoming a vicious rogue that had to be destroyed. Investigations into why he'd behaved as he did had uncovered the father's heinous treatment. This warned the communities to be more alert for possible abuse and to put a stop to it swiftly.

Watching the golden cower beneath Adair, made Comack fairly certain this hatchling had suffered some type of abuse at the paws of someone, most likely a family member.

Adair was coming to the same conclusion when the golden beneath him continued to tremble in terror. He absolutely loathed that kind of parenting as it tended to foster hatred rather than respect and love.

Sighing, Adair decided a gentler method was required. He carefully released the hatchling's wrists then raised himself up and off the body. The golden was so traumatized, he failed to notice he was free and remained trembling and frozen in place.

That made Adair angry. It was plainly obvious to all that this poor creature had indeed been brutalized and Adair's attempts to control then question him had only exasperated his condition.

Shaking his head, Adair sank back on his haunches, using his tail for balance then, despite his multiple wounds that hurt and still bled, he leaned forward and dragged the huddled form of the hatching into his arms insuring the wings were carefully folded before pressing the male's face and body against his chest.

Lowering his head, Adair began gently grooming the golden's face to soothe him adding a hum from deep within his chest to further help calm the youngster.

Feral shuddered in terror as his body was lifted. He thought for certain more punishment was forthcoming but when nothing like that happened, he was confused. His bewilderment increased when a warm tongue began to lick and clean his face while a soothing hum backed by a deep pounding of a strong heart beat against his ear that was pressed against a powerful chest.

Still too afraid to open his eyes, Feral lay still and tried to reconcile this gentle treatment to all he could remember from his past but the closest he could come was a very distant memory of warm female paws hugging him close and singing to him. That gentleness had been ripped away from him while he'd been barely twenty to be replaced by brutal punishments, cold treatment, and strict obedience from his father and grandfather.

He breathed in the scent of this dragon giving him comfort and was amazed at how wonderful it felt. Even though this same dragon had pinned him to the ground, the elder apparently hadn't intended to do him harm, merely make him stay so questions could be asked. It was a lot to take in so he let his mind go still and simply enjoyed the marvelous sensation of being cared for.

Gradually, he was able to relax. A strong desire to hoard this wonderful feeling began to grow in him. Pulling his arms free, he reached up and clasped the elder's neck tightly and nuzzled his face against the powerful red dragon's cheek. Scenting blood, he instinctively used the natural healing agent in his saliva to lick the cut he found there.

Adair sighed as his painful facial cut was soothed and healed by the hatchling. It showed the youngster was still compassionate and caring, despite the harshness of his upbringing, much to Adair's relief as he continued his own ministrations toward the golden in his embrace.

Feral knew this moment had to end and the very thought made him moan in anguish...to lose this amazing feeling of solace and return to the loneliness and longing his life had been since he was orphaned, was more than he could bear.

The way the young golden was clinging to him and the anguished whimper that escaped his lips, sent an arrow of pain and sorrow through Adair's heart. If this hatchling's family still existed, he personally, would remove the youngster from their care. No one should be allowed to abuse someone this way. The way the poor thing behaved, it must have been a very long time since he'd experienced any kind of gentle touch.

A strong surge of protectiveness swept over Adair and without thinking further about it...he made the decision to take this hatchling under his wing and be the mentor the golden needed. One more lost one brought back into the fold.

"Ahh, little one, have thee been ill treated? How awful for thee but fear not, I will not let thee be alone or mistreated ever again. I, Adair promise to care for thee and be thy mentor, teaching you the ways of dragon kind," Adair said, softly, speaking in old English.

Feral blinked in shocked surprise, desperate hope swamping him. Though the words were old and ones he'd not heard since his youth, hearing them spoken now to him was something he'd never dreamed would happen in his lifetime. He'd heard that special promise made to others in his youth and had prayed for it himself, but none had come forth to end his torment and his father nor grandfather had given him the promise, but now, it was finally being offered and he was left speechless.

With tears welling up in his huge golden eyes, he tilted his head upward to stare into the ruby ones, searching for a lie, but finding only gentle regard and concern there.

Swallowing hard he stuttered haltingly in a low, deep voice, "You'll be my mentor?" Adair nodded solemnly. "I've no one. My grandfather died a long time ago...I...I have been alone for over twenty years. My family said...said...I was never to trust other dragons or...or reveal myself..." He looked anxiously into the other dragon's face for reassurance that he hadn't done anything wrong.

Adair was stunned. This hatchling had been alone without guidance or the company of dragons for a very long time and yet he had managed to not only survive but to retain a core of goodness within him and not turn rogue as so many did in the same circumstances...that spoke of an iron will and determination...something he admired. However, the youngster did have a lot of misinformation to overcome...Adair sighed as he realized how much work he faced mentoring the golden. The first step now, was reassuring him.

"Be easy! You have done nothing wrong. Those fears your family taught you were based on a very real danger of being killed by hunters. Is this what happened to your family?" Adair asked, softly.

"Yes. My grandfather was the last to care for me and then he was killed when I was seventy."

"I'm so sorry, little one. That is a terrible thing to have happen but if your family had been apart of a community we could have protected you better but if something still had happened to your family, someone within the community would have taken you under their wing and cared for you. You would have never been left so alone," Adair told him, gently. "You see, fear is what kept them away and fear is what destroyed them in the end. Now, I have an important question to ask you...have you ever felt like you're missing something in your life...a feeling that you should belong somewhere but you didn't know how or why?"

The golden stared at him in shock. Could he read minds? He'd felt that way nearly the whole time he was orphaned and even a little when he'd still had his grandfather but it wasn't until he saw that dragon flying over the city some weeks ago, that the question became a constant in his mind. Perhaps this elder had the answer he sought? Overwhelmed, he could only nod mutely.

"The reason you felt that way was because it's in a dragon's nature to belong to a community. We are driven by instinct to seek each other out and live together. It's simply unnatural and unhealthy for us to do otherwise," Adair explained, patiently.

Stunned, Feral asked, "so, because my family feared being found by hunters, they chose to cut themselves from all contact with dragons thinking that might protect them in some way?"

Adair sighed. "That could be their reasoning my young one, I really don't know for certain. I'm truly sorry you had to experience that kind of wrong thinking and fear for so long but now you're under my care and I'll teach you what it means to truly be a dragon. But that's for later, right now, I still need answers from you...," Adair began then winced as his body complained from the position and his wounds.

"Oh...I'm sorry you're hurt and I've been taking away the time you need to have your wounds treated," the golden apologized, mortified to have caused the elder even more discomfort. He quickly but carefully pushed free of the elder's arms and stood beside him as Adair straightened to ease his cramped muscles.

Adair smiled at him then winced again. The wounds, though healing fairly quickly, still hurt and oozed blood. Byron and Comack quickly rose to their feet and hurried to his side. As Byron began on a deep laceration on the red's right arm, Comack gave his friend a concerned and annoyed look as he gently pulled on the left wing to reach a nasty rip.

"You should have allowed us to treat you immediately, Adair. You needn't have suffered this long," Comack scolded, lightly.

Adair gave him a meek smile but didn't respond, returning his attention to the golden who waited anxiously before him. Sighing to himself, he realized he was left in a quandary. He needed to know who this dragon was but at the same time, dragon kind had guarded their Kat identities for a reason. He grimaced mentally. This protective stance definitely had its shortcomings and this was one of the growing number of them.

Today's incident was a serious case in point. Clearly, this rule would have to go as the lack of knowledge on what a dragon did as a Kat and who they were was detrimental to the safety of dragon kind. This old defense mechanism's failure was shoved in their faces when Dark Kat was nearly able to destroy them simply because no one knew how to reach Adair nor knew he could have forestalled the fight in the first place if the community had been aware he was one of the SWAT Kats.

But years of ingrained response to the directive had prevented him from doing that very thing so he certainly understood how hard it was going to be to make the others even consider revealing their Kat persona to each other. However, knowing the threat to dragon kind was increasing should have made him break that rule, when he first broached the subject of revealing themselves. Well, no point in beating himself up about it. Now that he had more evidence of how serious this problem was he made himself a promise to give Trimaris a comm unit as soon as possible.

Yes, dragon kind had been defending themselves for centuries but with the advent of technology, their abilities could be matched or conquered by the better armed Kats. Hence the need to know who among them was good with technology besides himself. This young dragon was going to be the first case where revealing out weighed secrecy.

So, he eyed the golden for a moment before saying carefully, "it has been traditional as well as necessary for dragon safety to never reveal our Kat persona's to each other."

The golden stared at Adair in consternation. "I wasn't aware of that rule. No one mentioned it during my youth. My hiding my identity as a dragon was ingrained in me by my family to protect us from hunters. We never took dragon form and were strictly Kats for all our lives and since my family's death, I've never come in contact with another dragon so it was never an issue. So, you can see why its really hard for me to be standing revealed as a dragon before you all in the first place. Now you want to know my Kat persona too? I just don't know if I can bring myself to do that," he said, uneasily.

"Yes, well I can certainly understand that but there really isn't a choice here. I need to know how you knew about Dark Kat and what training you've had because I have a duty to the community to protect it and you are an unknown. I can sense you have a good heart but that isn't good enough when there are suspicions hanging about you. So, you can see there doesn't seem to be any other choice here," Adair said patiently.

The golden continued to stand, uncertain and uneasy, his long prehensile tongue coming out to lick his lips nervously as he tried to come to a decision. Adair didn't rush him. This was an important decision and the hatchling must make it on his own.

T-Bone moved restlessly, wanting to say something but feeling he had no right to in this circumstance. They really needed to get out of here. It wouldn't be long before the enforcers found them also there was the injured dragons on the jet to consider. He was about to speak anyway when the golden dragon made his decision by the simple expediency of altering his form.

The tabby pilot could only gape in shocked surprise. There stood Feral of all people. Adair, Comack, and Byron were equally speechless. It took Adair several seconds to find his voice again.

"Well, hell! No wonder you acted so strangely when I dropped Dr. Viper off on your flight line. You were trained to be afraid of dragons that weren't family."

Feral could only mutely nod his head in embarrassment, looking away nervously. Trying to regain his composure under so many eyes, he scanned the area for any dangers as he'd been trained to do. He swept his gaze briefly over the dead dragon then eyed the single SWAT Kat standing near a big tree and staring back at him in consternation and surprise.

For a moment he paused, anger and embarrassment filling him as he realized his humiliation then neediness had been witnessed by the vigilante. Having them know he was young and a dragon was a weapon in their paws. If they wanted to, they could make his position as Chief Enforcer even more unendurable than it already was. His fists clenched as he fought to keep from lunging at the SWAT Kat, wanting desperately to take out his anger on the arrogant tom for putting him in this untenable position.

To help him keep his temper under control, he turned his gaze away from the tabby and searched the area again. He was missing something...but what?" Still treating the red dragon, the other two dragons...another gold like himself...and a copper colored one eyed him curiously as they worked. He gave them a respectful nod as he could tell they were older than him, though not elders.

Continuing his search of the clearing, he noted everyone's position and that's when he figured out who was missing. Looking back over at the SWAT Kat, he stared beyond him at the Turbokat then back at the tom.

Frowning, he asked, "where is your partner, SWAT Kat? Is he waiting in the jet?"

"No, he's right here with us," T-Bone answered, lazily, a small smile tugging his lips.

"But there's no one here but dragons and you...wait..." Feral stared at the dragons as a sinking realization sank into his brain then what Adair had said about Viper helped him make the connection. Turning to stare at the elder, his mouth dropped in shocked dismay.

"Kat's Alive! You're one of the SWAT Kats!"

Adair was a little surprised that Feral had put together the pieces rather swiftly and came up with the correct answer. 'Well he's not so thick between the ears after all,' he thought.

'Okay, better not underestimate him from now on since he couldn't be stupid and make his way up the ranks the way he did,' he reminded himself, ruefully. Time to confirm the youngster's accurate guess. Adair allowed his form to take its Kat persona since Comack and Byron had finished healing him as best they could. His injuries translated into nothing more than bruises and soreness in his Kat form, the more serious injuries having been healed during the transformation.

Feral could only stare in dismay and shock that who he'd considered a young and brash Kat was really a very powerful and old dragon. The old adage, 'big things can come in small packages', had never been more truer than right now as he tried to reconcile the strength and power of an elder that had so easily over powered him, gave him comfort then promised to be his mentor, with the small compact form of Razor.

"Unbelievable! You're a dragon? And an elder?...uhm...exactly how old are you?" He asked, badly shaken.

Razor eyed Feral in mild amusement, this situation was just fraught with humor. "I'm four hundred and fifty-six years old."

Feral moaned to himself. 'Kat's Alive! I've insulted and threatened an elder dragon with arrest numerous times. He has a right to punish me severely for such a transgression,' he thought fearfully. But there was no feeling of animosity coming from the SWAT Kat. Instead, Feral was amazed when all Razor did was lean closer and ask in a gentle, but amused voice, "...and how old are you my little hatchling?"

The dark tom blushed furiously and muttered, "...uh...I just turned ninety last month, sir." It felt so weird to behave respectfully toward this person whom he long held antagonistic feelings toward. The incongruity of it was really hard for his mind to accept.

"Really, well you're not as young as I feared at least," Razor mused, aware of Feral's discomfort toward his Kat persona but not commenting on it.

T-Bone sputtered, "you're ninety...wow! You don't look a day over forty something." Frowning, he looked over at his partner and asked, puzzled, "how does that compare to Kat age?"

"About eighteen, nineteen-something," his partner responded, shrugging.

"Really, wow, its hard to look at him and think 'young teen' when he looks so much older in that form," the tabby commented. "It's even weirder to realize I'm actually older in comparison. Maybe that's why he's such a pain in the tail and stiff necked, he's a little uncertain and way too cocky for his britches," he snorted in amusement.

Feral blushed with humiliation at the way the tabby was making fun of him. He earned the respect he got as a Kat. It wasn't right that he could be put down this way just because he was young in dragon terms.

But some moments later, Feral's mouth dropped in shock at what T-Bone said next,"as amusing as that seems to me, seriously, I can't deny I'm impressed by how much he's been able to do all by himself for being such a young dragon. No matter how I feel about his methods of discipline and running the enforcers, the truth is, he is a good enforcer and has legitimately gained the respect of his troops. However, what's going to be difficult from now on is trying to treat him as if none of this happened. I mean...I can't forget he's actually a very young, inexperienced dragon. How do I treat him now?"

Razor eyed his partner thoughtfully. T-Bone was right. They had a history with Feral and knew him as a well trained and experienced enforcer and though they treated him with derision a lot, they did know he wasn't really a bad enforcer just a temperamental one. But now, knowing what they knew about the big tom, things had changed.

"You're right buddy. I suggest you treat him as you've always done though I would remember he is a good enforcer even if he's acts like a bone head sometimes. I, on the other paw, have to remember to treat him as Chief Enforcer when we're SWAT Kats then switch hats when I'm an elder," he said, thoughtfully.

Turning to Feral, he added,"it will be just as hard for you, I'm sure, Commander. You have the right to continue treating me the way you have so as not draw the wrong kind of attention to us both but never forget, as dragons, I am your mentor and will be obeyed. Got it?"

Taking a deep breath and letting it out, releasing the tension and fear he'd been carrying about this very thing, Feral said, "yes, sir...understood." He was still stunned by how T-Bone had actually complimented him, in a round about way, and had truly wanted to help them work together as best they could. His worries about T-Bone using his vulnerabilities against him was no longer a concern, he realized. It changed a lot about how he thought of the tom.

"So, that answers how you were certain about Dark Kat and how you are a fighter though still a hatchling," Razor said, shaking his head. "I was certainly right about needing to know who you are. Your position could be very important to dragon kind as we try to come out of hiding. You and I have much to discuss, Commander but at the moment we need to get out of here before your enforcers arrive."

Since, Dark Kat is in dragon form, I will be taking the body with us. Before we leave, I'll finish the job of destroying the mountain completely. That will bury any evidence to the contrary about Dark Kat and destroy all his bombs, creepling factory, and anything else he had in there that could threaten all of us. When you write up your report you can say truthfully that Dark Kat died under that mountain. No one needs to know he was a dragon because that would lead to some ugly problems for us all if that got out," Razor ordered. "You will simply report that he was killed in the fall of his hideout as were the creeplings which is very true since the mountain did collapse completely shortly after I and Dark Kat fought."

"Oh Goddess! I don't think any of us thought of that!" Byron exclaimed. "Glad you did, though. Oh, and by the way, Commander, we have a small boat load of ninjas waiting pickup on a mountain peak. I'm sorry but I had to deposit them somewhere so I could return to the battle," Byron said. "Why don't I just go fetch them now and bring them here?"

"Good idea, Byron. Hurry, we'll wait for you," Razor said. Byron nodded and took flight.

All this was happening far too fast for Feral. When he could get a word in, he strongly objected to one of Razor's orders, "Wait a minute! I can't let you just destroy evidence like that nor take the body! How do I prove Dark Kat is dead without it?"

Comack gave the hatchling a disapproving look while Razor's eyes narrowed angrily behind his mask. Here was Feral's first lesson in obedience. Altering his form instantly, Adair leaned over Feral's Kat form threateningly, lowering his huge head so it was directly in front of Feral's suddenly frightened face.

"I can cut you some slack because you've been alone a very long time but don't make me teach you something I know your family instilled in you about obeying your elders," he warned, flatly.

Feral swallowed in fright. 'Damn him for a fool! After being told what was expected of him and telling Adair that he understood, he turned right around, took a stance as Chief Enforcer and dared to contradict his mentor!' He cursed, angry at himself.

Lowering his eyes and showing contriteness, he said, "I'm sorry elder. I didn't mean to question your orders. Forgive me, this will be hard to get used to considering our positions in the Kat world."

Adair continued to stare at the shivering hatchling for another moment before relenting. Feral was right, this was going to take some time adjusting to and he was sure there would be many more correction incidents to come. Nodding his head and stepping back, Adair rumbled, "you are forgiven and yes, this is going to take time. We'll talk more about it later. Meet me thirty miles above city hall at around ten this evening and we'll begin your lessons. Meanwhile, do as I have ordered and let's get out of here."

"Yes sir."

"T-Bone..." Adair called to his partner but paused and pricked his ears toward the right of them, all the dragons were doing the same.

"It's my four enforcers that parachuted down with me in this area. It looks like they've finally reached my location," Feral told them, quietly.

"We'd better clear out of here...ahh...here comes Byron with your prisoners," Adair said, seeing the gold dragon head toward them then land a boat with six frightened black clad Kats in it, next to the group. "Well, Commander, we're off." Adair, leaned closer to Feral and whispered in his ear. "Remember, we're finishing off the destruction of the base so you should take your group further away to keep them from getting hurt."

Feral bobbed his head in understanding. Satisfied, Adair strode over and grabbed the tail of Dark Kat while Byron and Comack grabbed an arm each and lifted so the corpse was not dragging on the ground then they all hurried off toward the Turbokat, T-Bone having left ahead of them to open the jet.

The cargo door stood open when they arrived, so they hurried inside where they could finally drop the body in the center of the deck. Sushimi and Meris gave hoots of pleasure at seeing their enemy dead.

Then, as the cargo door closed and T-Bone went up to the cockpit, Adair took his SWAT Kat form. The group just shook their heads in amazement.

"I would never have believed it. You...one of the SWAT Kats," Sushimi said.

"Yeah, well..." Razor blushed. "are you guys okay delaying our return home? We need to finish destroying the mountain fortress before we leave the area," he asked the pair.

"Oh, we're okay, a little sore but nothing we can't endure until we get home," Meris said, cheerily.

"Making sure that deadly hideaway is finished is far more important Adair. It is no trouble waiting for that to be done to your satisfaction," Sushimi said, gravely.

"Thanks. I'll hurry!" Razor flashed them a smile then headed back up to the cockpit.


	13. Chapter 13

**THERE BE DRAGONS!**

**Chapter 13: Explanations**

Returning to Dark Kat's former hideout, Razor grunted in satisfaction. Their previous assault had nearly collapsed the mountain to half its original size, albeit, only on one side. It would take only a few more missiles to finish the job.

"Okay, buddy, let's clean up!"

"You got it!" T-Bone's voice held the same satisfaction and pleasure at being able to shut down a long time threat.

Some thirty minutes later, the mountain hideaway had been reduced to the size of a hill with the peak having collapsed inward leaving a dimple in its top like a bowl.

"That does it. Take us home, T-Bone."

"What about our passengers?"

"I'll be taking them back to the community...less problems that way. I'll send the jet back by autopilot as I probably won't be back myself until late tomorrow. Glad there's not much work waiting in the garage and, hopefully, you won't get more while I'm gone."

"No worries, I can handle it. I hope you don't catch too much flack for me being in the area of your sanctuary," his partner said, a questioning lilt in his voice.

"I'm an elder, buddy, no one messes with me nor questions my decisions too much. However, they will be upset enough to want to vent about it. They'll be even more unhappy when I bring up the other more serious issues to their attention. It will be a long evening." Razor sighed.

T-Bone gave a sympathetic grunt. "Don't envy you that. I have to admit, this has been an incredible day for me...learning Dark Kat was a dragon then turning around and finding out Feral is one too was a shock then finding out he's only about the age of a teenage kitten, just blew my mind. Hey...was Dark Kat young too?"

"No, he was about half my age and definitely no hatchling. But one thing he most likely had in common with Feral, though, was receiving terrible treatment by someone in his formative years that made him a rogue."

"But Feral isn't one!" T-Bone objected, confused.

"Yes, and that truly amazes me. We may not like him particularly, but, T-Bone, believe me when I say, it takes a really strong will and firm beliefs in right and wrong to produce someone like Feral. Over my centuries of life, I've never encountered anyone who resisted being twisted by abuse like he did."

"Really? Now I feel even more guilty for giving him such a hard time over the past few years and it sort of makes me sick to realize I've been nasty to what amounts to a kitten. I've prided myself on being the protector of kittens and females and here I go abusing a youngster...I'm disgusted with myself," the tabby admitted, unhappily.

"Hey, easy buddy! Don't do that to yourself. Neither you nor I was aware Feral was a young dragon. He behaved like an adult Kat and we treated him exactly that way. It's a testament to just how well he hid himself. I admire that."

T-Bone snorted then sighed, "okay, you're right, there was no way we could have known and yeah, he does have a lot of moxy for such a young dragon alright. I don't think a kitten the same age could have pulled off what he's done over the past twenty years."

"Exactly. What an amazing hatchling."

"Well now that I know he's just a youngster and that he's suffered abuse when he was even younger, I'm not going to treat him the way I've been all these years. I know its important not to appear to treat him any differently in the public eye but I just can't continue being so disrespectful to him in front of his own officers. He's worked hard to reach the rank he attained and deserves to be treated with respect. So no more belittling him...let his officers be a little confused...better that than continue feeling like some ill mannered bully."

"It's alright buddy, I can understand how you feel completely. I'm not so happy about how I've treated him either," Razor admitted.

There was silence for some minutes as T-Bone thought about all that had happened as he piloted the jet homeward.

"Too bad we don't know the story on Dark Kat's life. It sounds as if his wasn't so rosy either and as vicious as that guy was, his past must have been truly horrific," T-Bone mused.

"I'm afraid you may be right. Some of the things I've seen and heard during my life were truly nasty. The worst being used for experiments...hmmm...you know that is a real possibly as his Kat persona was so unlike a Kat in many ways. I need to give his body a closer look to see if he had been used that way. It would explain a lot, " Razor said, thoughtfully.

"Experiments? Razor, that's just wrong!" T-Bone blurted.

"Yeah, well a lot of things Kat kind did to us were wrong, buddy, that's just the way things were for a very long time."

"That's just...how could we have stood by and allowed that to be done?" His partner asked, truly upset that such an injustice could have continue for so long.

"Well, to be honest, T-Bone, only the hunters turned to such vicious and sick treatment. Most of Kat kind didn't know since by that time we were already in hiding. So Kats thought we were myths except for the hunters who passed the knowledge down from generation to generation," Razor explained, patiently.

"That still doesn't make it right. Do these hunters still exist?" T-Bone asked, a self righteous anger resounding in his voice.

Razor couldn't help but smile though his partner couldn't see it. This was so like T-Bone to feel so strongly for the underdog that he wanted to badly set things right again, all on his own. No wonder he admired and loved the tabby so much.

"Yes, some are still around but not in the numbers they used to be nor with the power they used to hold. Now, its just pockets of dying families that still hunt us but with our coming out they will be easier to find as they won't be able to resist hunting us when we're out in the open."

"Then, we'll just have to add them to our list of bad guys and keep an eye out for them."

"Good idea, T-Bone."

Silence fell as they had reached their hangar and T-Bone was guiding the jet down the hidden runway. As the jet rose on its turntable for the hangar's main floor, T-Bone felt the need to add something else.

"You know buddy, you're really in for a lot of heartburn being Feral's mentor. I don't envy you trying to teach him. He's so stubborn and has had too much time being on his own to be willing to listen to anyone now. Also, he's so used to treating you as a trouble maker that he is having difficulty switching gears," he chuckled, lightly as he remembered the horror on Feral's face when he learned how old Razor truly was.

"Oh yeah, that much was already obvious to me. I can see lots of punishment tasks in his future," Razor said, ruefully.

"Oh but...you're not going to physically punish him are you?" T-Bone asked, concerned. "He's apparently suffered so much at the paws of his family, I'd hate to think he's looking at more of the same to make him tote the line. Don't misunderstand me, I know why you had to slap him down on that first meeting, but..."

Razor quickly cut him off. "His punishments will never involve painful or emotional mistreatment, buddy... promise. We use onerous tasks that need getting done to teach a hatchling to never repeat whatever his or her mistake was," he soothed and reassured his friend.

T-Bone's shoulders relaxed and he sighed in relief. "Okay, that's good to know but I suspect Feral is going to really hate you more than he already does."

"I have no doubt of that," Razor snorted, amused. "If you have more questions to ask me, I'll be happy to talk when I get back. Right now though, I've got some dragons to get home. I'll see you later, buddy."

"Yeah, see you tomorrow, sometime." T-Bone said, leaping from the cockpit and waving farewell, before turning away and heading for their changing area. Razor got out of his seat then went down into the cargo area to speak to his friends.

"Hey, guys! We're in our hangar and T-Bone has left so I can take us home. It will be a short flight."

"Uh, where would your hangar be?" Byron asked.

"It's better you don't know. However, so Comack doesn't have to create a scene to get my attention again...," Comack laughed. "... I'll be leaving a special communicator with Trimaris. There may be another time when this jet is the only thing between our home and death and I want you to be able to reach me in seconds to prevent what happened today from occurring again."

"Godess, I certainly hope this doesn't happen again," Meris retorted.

"So do I, Meris, but, unfortunately, it very well could as we still have other omegas out there. The reason I say that is this black dragon was the worst omega of our time and the one who attacked our sanctuary...that is Dark Kat," Adair said, looking down at the dead dragon.

"What?" Was the shocked reaction from all of them.

"Yeah, stunned me as well. And whose to say another omega might not be a hidden dragon?" Razor shook his head. "We can't take that chance so it's important we know everyone's Kat persona so we are able to seek a fellow dragons help when its needed."

"I actually agree with you on that. I've been watching and listening, and I have to say keeping our Kat persona's secret is actually contributing to our decline. To reverse it, we need to unveil completely to each other," Sushimi agreed.

"Good luck convincing the rest of the community to accept that," Byron commented, acidly.

"No different than revealing us to Kat kind. I feel very strongly that this is the path that will lead dragon kind to a happier and brighter future and this is only the first step," Razor's voice rang with certainty making the others eye him thoughtfully.

"Then may the Goddess assist you in your mission, Adair," Meris said, softly.

"Thank you. Now I'll get us home." Razor left them to their thoughts as he returned to the cockpit. The trip was made in silence and less than twenty minutes later, he brought the jet down in a small clearing at the back of the mountain range where their hidden citadel was located.

Leaving the engines running, he jumped down into the hold. "Okay, guys were in a clearing not far from the citadel. Can you fly or do we need to get more help?"

"Well, everyone helped heal most of my wounds so I should be able to fly," Sushimi said, raising and testing his wing.

Meris also gave a positive nod. "I'm good to go!"

"Okay then..." Razor signaled the cargo door to open and they all filed out then he took his dragon form and dragged the dead dragon from the jet. With Byron and Comack's assistance, he carried the body a short distance from the Turbokat with the others following him.

Returning to his Razor persona for a moment, he used his glovatrix to signaled the cargo door closed then engaged VTOL to raise the jet to the height it needed for level flight. Once it was high enough, he put it on autopilot and the Turbokat roared off toward the city once more.

He returned to his dragon form and they all waited until the jet couldn't be seen nor heard any longer before flying in a group toward the citadel. Sushimi and Meris were sore but were able to fly under their own power and using the mountain thermals to stay aloft, sparing their damaged wings. Though awkward, Adair, Comack and Byron managed to airlift the black dragon's body homeward.

Once inside the citadel, several anxious dragons waited for them just inside the entrance point. Adair hushed them, saying, "I know everyone wants to know what went on and I'll gladly brief them but only after everyone has arrived. I want a special session called...so begin the notification process."

The head of security, Procter, nodded in obedience to the order and hurried off. Adair also ordered the body be taken to their morgue/forensic lab. Security immediately obeyed, taking the black dragon from its bearers.

It was nearly seven o'clock in the evening when the emergency session of the dragon community met. When Adair entered the chamber with his friends in tow after getting some rest and eating a meal, he was greeted with anger, fear, chaos, bickering, and various demands for explanations.

He ignored the yelled demands, nodded at friends, and soothed the frightened, as he made his way to the top tier of steps to sit with the rest of the elders. His closest friends took seats just below them.

When it looked like all that could be there had arrived and taken their seats, Adair stood up causing everyone to go silent and turn their jeweled eyes on him.

"Our attacker was Dark Kat! However, he was no Kat at all but a lost one," he began without preamble. His announcement was met with cries of shock and anger.

"Being the worst of Megakat City's omegas and a dirty fighter, I was dismayed to learn he had somehow discovered our location. His purpose was to annihilate us. Most likely, he thought we would be a dangerous roadblock to his plans for taking over the city. I'm afraid it was most likely our unveiling that made him seek us out at all," he went on grimly then paused a moment for that to sink in.

"I went to the morgue to look at his body and was dismayed and angry to discover Dark Kat had been experimented on...probably from a young age. His body had been seriously mutilated. To me this would be the reason he took such a mutated Kat persona and why he was such a vicious rogue. From his cruel treatment, he must have decided to abandon his dragon shape which explains why he never attacked as anything but a Kat with some formidable technology. We are fortunate he made this move so he could be taken our permanently. His hideout in the mountains north of here has been thoroughly destroyed."

That announcement was met with a mix of cheers from the younger set and rumbles of anger by the older dragons...many upset by the report of such heinous treatment done to one of them that had created a rogue more deadly than they'd known before. Learning he had lived so close to them was a frightening shock.

"It is mixed news you bring us Adair. It is good to know this threat has been dealt with though very unsettling to know such a one had lived so close. Another problem has us concerned though, the appearance of the SWAT Kats near our home. Though, we are grateful for their help in drawing that creature away and destroying him, having them within the vicinity of our citadel at all, has now compromised our safety," Elder Shursay pointed out, worriedly.

"No, it has not though I don't blame you for thinking so. It so happens, one of the SWAT Kats is fully aware of where our citadel is located," Adair said, quietly.

A roar of dismay rose from the attending dragons at the thought of a Kat knowing their home's location. Some panic was beginning among the more fearful of them when Adair belched flames toward the ceiling to regain their attention and to show his annoyance with their loss of control. Silence fell.

"You need not be afraid. Listen and I'll explain. Our ingrained habit of not revealing the identity of our Kat personas to each other has nearly cost us our home and lives. Comack wasted precious time trying to find me by making a spectacle of himself to attract my attention. If he had simply known who I was, help would have arrived much more quickly and so many would not have been grievously injured."

"Forgive me, Adair. Even though you are an elder, aren't you being a bit arrogant to claim only you could have dealt with this enemy," Elder Brightlight pointed out, archly.

Adair eyed his constant critic with a cold stare. "It is not arrogance but knowledge. I have battled Dark Kat before and knew his capabilities so was fully aware our natural weapons would be of no use against him."

"And how is that possible? Are you an enforcer?" Brightlight snorted, questioningly.

A small smile tugged at Adair's mouth. "Not exactly." In the blink of an eye, he became Razor. The outcry was loud and stunned as well as outraged.

"You fool! How could you break our most important rule and how is it you took this ridiculous position as a SWAT Kat?" Brightlight cried, furious.

Flicking back to his dragon form Adair glared at Brightlight. The elder frowned but backed down as he was no match for Adair. Turning his attention back to the room of disturbed dragons, Adair continued his explanation.

"I was an enforcer but fell into problems with the Chief Enforcer who put I and my partner out of the military. To continue protecting this city, T-Bone and I went on to become the SWAT Kats to do what we felt was right. If Comack had only known how to find me right away, T-Bone and I could have responded faster."

Stunned eyes stared at him.

"What I'm trying to get you to understand is hiding from each other is failing to protect us. Too often one of us has run into trouble and because we didn't know where to find a member of our community close at paw, the problem either didn't get solved or a more serious consequence occurred. Think about it! If you needed a doctor for our kind for a sick hatchling, you would have to transport it all the way here for treatment which might cause the condition to worsen. But, if that same parent knew of a doctor just a few blocks away, the outcome would have been better. That is just one example, I know some of us have encountered," he said bluntly.

Holding out his paws he pleaded, "Look! With these modern times threatening our secrecy, hiding from each other only exasperates our difficulties in communicating with each other, especially since a very large portion of us live in the city. We need to be able to speak to and/or seek assistance from each other when we're in the city for our safety and well being."

"That isn't a good enough reason to give up a rule that has protected us for centuries," another elder objected.

"Wake UP! The world has changed much in the past century. Technology can find us and may even one day be able to see through our Kat disguise. This was one of the reasons we are trying to 'come out' in the first place. But it isn't enough to protect us because we're our own worst enemy for holding to rules that are outdated and are already failing us. We must change with the times if we are to survive. We hide from each other because we were afraid of being killed by one of our own...now there are too few of us and we can no longer afford to be afraid of that threat since other enemies will pick us off anyway. The hiding must stop and I'll be the first to make a step toward a brighter future. I've already begun this journey by outing dragon kind. Now it's time to bare all my identities!" Adair announced passionately as he altered again but this time as his civilian Kat self.

"I am called Jake Clawson aka Razor. I work with my partner and best friend Chance Furlong aka T-Bone in the Megakat Salvage Yard."

The room erupted with more cries of angry denouncements. Jake simply stood there with his arms across his chest and waited them out. Violent arguments for and against what he proposed went on for more than an hour. Sighing to himself, Adair took back his dragon form and sank down into a reclining position on the stone bench to rest.

"You certainly stirred up a hornets nest, Adair," Trimaris said, mildly amused.

"It had to be done. They'll argue and fight against it but in the end it's the only decision left to make," Adair grunted, accepting a cool drink from Trimaris' mate. "There's one more thing I didn't get a chance to say, what if another of our omegas is a hidden dragon?"

Trimaris gaped at him in horror. "Oh Goddess! That is a horrifying thought and quite possible as well. You are right, we can no longer hide."

"Yeah, but being in the open could make it easier for hunters to find us," Sushimi objected lightly.

"Yes that's certainly possible though not as likely since they are fewer in number now, however, with the advent of technology, those few could find us just as easily as regular Kat kind with devices that can see through our disguises. It really is only a matter of time," Adair said, soberly.

His friends sighed and nodded gravely that Adair had a valid point and one that really couldn't be ignored any longer.

Tremaris shook his head sadly. "It is very hard for such a long lived species to accept that times are changing so quickly. It is that speed that has so many afraid, Adair. It will take them time to try and accept the need to do this."

"Believe me, old friend, I'm very aware of that," Adair sighed, sipping his drink and watching the chaos.

It was getting toward midnight and the arguing continued unabated. Telling Trimaris he had an appointment to keep and would be back, Adair left the lair for the city...he had a lost one to meet.


	14. Chapter 14

**THERE BE DRAGONS!**

**Chapter 14: Feral Gets Some Answers**

Feral had gotten back to the city some thirty minutes after leaving the scene that had changed his life forever. He pushed back his nervousness about the meeting later tonight and concentrated on making up a report that sounded plausible on how Dark Kat met his end. The report went off to the Mayor by courier an hour later and by quitting time the news was all over the city courtesy of a hurriedly gathered news conference by his honor, telling the world Dark Kat was finally dead.

The radio, TV and evening papers were filled with the news and by nightfall a celebratory mood held sway over the city. A sigh of relief and joy flew through the enforcers when word was brought back by those at the battle scene. Add in the fact, Dr. Viper was still under lock and key (for now) everyone felt they had a right to feel they might be getting their city back.

Though he too felt elated to finally have that menace gone permanently, he was too mixed up emotionally about all the other things that had happened to bring about that death. His part in it still made him feel guilty in some way. He knew if they were still alive, his father and grandfather would have been furious with him for giving himself away.

But the more he thought about it, the more he realized there was nothing else he could have done and, more importantly, he was no longer alone which had hurt bitterly for so long. He actually felt anger at his family for denying them the safety and comfort of belonging to a community. He hoped Adair could answer his question about why his family had done what they had done in the first place. It just made no sense to him.

Anyway, he was glad but anxious about finally having met a member of the community and to have a mentor at last. Though his only real problem now was the fact the elder dragon was masquerading as a SWAT Kat. Since he was the Chief Enforcer, this put him in a strange position that was confusing to say the least. How the heck was he supposed to reconcile the fact he hated the vigilantes for their constant interference with his need and desire to be mentored by one of them. However, he had another concern that bothered him even more.

'Kat's Alive! What a mess. How the heck can I still do my job and be a dragon too? It doesn't help that in the dragon community I'm still thought of as a mere hatchling. I hope that doesn't mean all the years I've worked to take care of myself and live responsibly among Kats will be thrown out and I'll be required to live in the community until I'm old enough. Also, I hope I haven't done anything wrong living on my own like this as well as reaching such a high position among the Kats,' he worried to himself.

Having made himself thoroughly nervous, he took his dragon shape and took off into the night sky from his apartment house roof to head for city hall and his meeting with Adair.

Adair vaned lazily, high above the city hall clock tower, watching for Feral to arrive. His wait was short as the young golden dragon was punctual. Dipping his head in nervous greeting, Feral floated close and waited for the elder dragon to make the first move.

"Let's go somewhere comfortable to talk," Adair said gently, noting how tense the hatchling was with fear and worry. He tilted his wings and soared away to the west, Feral following a short distance behind.

The flight took over fifteen minutes and put them over the desert. Adair dropped down and flew through the canyons of sandstone until he came to a fairly large cave. Landing on a small apron of outcropping, he walked inside, ducking his head to enter. Inside, the cave opened up and the night sky poured through an opening high in the ceiling above.

It was warm inside, left over from the day's heat, which made it comfortable for them. Adair settled himself onto the sandstone floor, flipping his wings to his back. Feral stepped in, looked around the spacious cave a moment before settling to the floor himself, folding his wings neatly along his back.

"How did the rest of your day go?" Adair asked, thinking simple conversation on the young one's workday would calm him.

"Uh, alright. I managed to write up something feasible on Dark Kat's death then got it off to the Mayor. He didn't waste anytime getting it disseminated to the press. By the time night fell, news of the worst omega being dead had the city in a celebratory mood."

"That's good news. Megakat City has needed a break from the violence and with Viper in jail, perhaps we'll get it finally."

"I'm still not very happy about how I had to lie on the report and everyone else. It just sits wrong with me," Feral admitted, unhappily.

"That's your sense of duty talking and I'm pleased to know it had disturbed you. It means you're honest to a fault. Keeping a secret isn't easy, who better to know that than I, however, sometimes it is necessary."

Feral eyed the elder dragon thoughtfully. "How did you fare when you told the community about Dark Kat being the one who attacked them and being a dragon?

"How do you think? Anger, fear, shouting, threats to go back into hiding...just about everything," Adair sighed. "And they are still debating the issues I brought up as we speak. I hope they reach a consensus that benefits us all by tomorrow."

"What did you ask them to do?" Feral asked, curious.

"To reveal their Kat personas to everyone of the community. Today's events showed why it is a bad idea to continue hiding from each other. Hiding our dragon selves was bad enough but hiding who we are when we live among Kats has been a cause for unnecessary turmoil and stress for those that needed help but didn't know a fellow dragon was near to get it before the trouble overtook them." Adair sighed and shook his head.

"That is bad but I think I understand their feelings about not wanting to give that last identity away. I'd have a problem with that myself. How does the community decide something like this...do you have a leader or a council?"

"We have no one that is elected the leader. To solve big issues, we debate then vote...the majority rules and you must be at least a hundred to cast a vote. Our eldest member helps to keep the subject under discussion on track and peaceful, sums it up when a consensus seems to have been reached then asks for a vote. Its been our way for the last two centuries."

Feral absorbed that for a moment realizing events were moving without him and that he'd have to go along whether he liked them or not because he was too young to vote (now that was an odd feeling) but it was nice to know when he came of age and was a full member of the community he would have a say. Pushing that aside, he changed the subject.

"Adair, why did my family feel it necessary to hide from other dragons and to never take our dragon form?"

Adair sighed and stared at the hatchling for a long moment. 'Okay, time for a history lesson,' he thought. It took over an hour then another hour to answer all of the hatchlings questions that the lesson had spawned.

"Even though I can understand why it happened so long ago, I can't understand why it continued to hold true to modern times," Feral said, frowning.

"Fear is the answer, Ulysses. In your position, you understand more than anyone how fear makes people do what they do."

Feral sighed and nodded. "That is very true."

For several minutes they were silent then Feral remembered his other concerns. "I know it's getting late but I still need to know how I fit into this new scheme of things. You're a SWAT Kat **and** an elder. How do I fit into this rather confusing picture?"

Adair chuckled. "Nothing has to change, little one. When we're in our Kat personas, behave as you always have. That secret must continue to exist. Only Dr. Sinian knows that Razor is a dragon but I have no intention of anyone else knowing that outside the dragon community. As for you, I have a feeling being an open dragon might benefit you. Your troops look up to you now but how much more respect would you gain if they knew you had the ability to take out the bad guys personally?"

Feral scowled at that and shook his head. "I disagree! Dragons living among Kats is still a new thing...a frightening thing...I may gain respect but I could also suffer a riff between my officers and I, because of fear of me. They may not trust my motives for a long time and this could lead to disobeying my orders."

"You have a compelling argument there, however, my primary goal has been to have dragons come out of hiding. Only then can Kat kind learn to be comfortable with us being around and used to us switching back and forth as we wish and knowing who we are in both forms. We can't hide forever, Ulysses...technology and modern times won't allow it. We need to change while we have the choice rather than having it forced upon us."

Feral sat silent absorbing Adair's passionate argument. He had to, unhappily, admit the elder was right...they couldn't hide any longer but he still felt uneasy about revealing himself and he knew his other reasons were still very valid.

Adair guessed the hatchlings thoughts and said quietly, "I understand what I'm asking is frightening and yes, you may encounter many problems in your job until everyone gets used to it but time is not on our side. Many older dragons are afraid of this too but someone has to make the sacrifice for the plan to work or all our efforts will have been in vain. Kat kind will forget us and relegate our existence to fairy tales again."

The golden dragon sighed and nodded. "You're right, of course. It is scary and I'm going to have a hard time actually doing it but I do understand it has to happen. Besides, I can't let you be the only brave one to take this step...I do have my pride you know," he said, more tongue in cheek than being disrespectful and trying to be more upbeat about this serious subject.

Adair chuckled at that last comment, pleased with his pupil's positive attitude. The golden would become a valuable asset to the community as he grew to adulthood.

"Is there anything else you wish to discuss before we head to our respective homes?" He asked warmly.

"Well, I was concerned with the possibility of being in trouble with the community for having hidden myself then interfering in dragon business the way I did."

Adair cocked his head and blinked in surprise. Hearing the note of fear in the hatchlings voice he rose to his feet then went to the golden's side and knelt to wrap him in his arms, hugging him close.

"Ohhh, little one. We're not angry with you. You did what you had to and survived. We're proud of you and amazed. Don't worry so. You do not have to meet the community right away, only when you feel more comfortable will I present you to them, until then, relax...don't worry about being accepted or about your past behavior...all is forgiven," he reassured the hatchling.

Feral sighed and relaxed in relief. Feeling those powerful arms enfolding him was just so wonderful and helped ease his tension, soothing away his fears. To be so protected and cared for was a new thing for him and he was beginning to crave it like a drug he was willing to be addicted to. He hugged Adair back, making a soft chirring sound of contentment in his throat. However, there was still one more question nagging him.

Still holding tightly to the elder he murmured, "Adair?"

"Hmm?"

"Exactly what does it mean for you to be my mentor?"

"Oh, well it means I will be teaching you how to be a dragon, to understand the changes your body is undergoing, the rules by which dragon society operates, etc.. In your case, it also means physical and emotional support as well as being a listening ear when you need it. We'll meet as frequently as we can, spending quiet time together as I teach you what you need to know."

"That sounds really nice...I've never had anyone to confide in before...my father and grandfather didn't encourage discussion or questions. You might say their method of training was more 'do what I say and shut up', Feral admitted, softly, looking away.

Adair frowned in anger as he hugged Feral even tighter. 'Damn it, they had no right to treat such an exceptional hatchling that way,' he fumed.

Feral stirred uneasily as he felt anger coming from his mentor. "Did I say something wrong," he asked, uncertainly.

"Oh no!" Adair was quick to reassure him, leaning back and using his clawed fingers to raise Ulysses' face so he could look into it. "I'm just angry at how those responsible for your care could treat you so callously. Your training under me won't be all sweetness as you are a stubborn soul but I will never deal out physical punishment in that way...ever...I solemnly promise this too you," he said seriously. "You may well come to hate me because I am a firm task master but you will be cared for and you will be listened to."

Feral felt his throat tighten with emotions he'd never experienced before. He knew Adair meant every word he'd promised and to know he would be so cared for and, even more importantly, that his opinions and questions would be heeded was a gift he never expected. It was almost like a dream except those strong arms still held him and a look of concern for his well being shone from those ruby eyes convinced him it was very real. His heart had finally found a home.

As for taking instruction from someone he had long thought of as a troublemaker, yeah, he had no doubt they would have words between them, mainly because he was stubborn and because he still had to wrap his head around the fact Razor was an elder and had earned the right to be treated with respect. However, he would learn and he was thrilled to have been fortunate enough to come under the notice of such a powerful mentor.

"That is the most wonderful news to me. Yeah, I have no doubt we'll clash...a lot and I am stubborn to a fault but I can't wait to get started," he said sincerely, smiling joyfully.

Adair laughed, gave a last tight hug before releasing the hatchling and said lightly, "we've already begun your lessons so I hope you've been listening."

Feral blushed and gave a small bob of his head. "Of course I have been. I'm just a little flustered by all this. So much of my life has suddenly changed."

"Yes, I imagine so and all for the better too!"

"Definitely!" Feral said, smiling shyly.

Adair shook himself out and prepared to leave. "Time for you to get some rest. I won't be available again until probably tomorrow night. I'll send you a message when and where to meet, until then, sleep well and have a good day!" He said moving away and heading for the cave entrance then taking to the air with ease.

Feral sighed and murmured a "...and you too, sir.." before reaching the exit as well and launching himself into the late night sky, his heart lighter.


	15. Chapter 15

**THERE BE DRAGONS!**

**Chapter 15: Revealing Time**

Adair returned to the citadel to find the discussion still raging on. He sighed, deciding to take a nap rather than listen to the debate. It took the rest of the night and well past lunch the next day before everyone felt they had their say and all issues had been discussed.

Sitting in his usual spot, Adair listened as Trimaris called for the vote.

"We will vote on the issue to reveal our Kat personas to the community. All those for..." he called out. His mate tallied the paws then nodded to the elder. "All those opposed..." Again the elder's mate took the count then told him the result.

"The ayes have it. Those willing to do so now, please show your Kat self and tell us what you do for a living," Trimaris announced. "I will go first." The elder dragon changed his form and became a white haired and ordinary looking tom of solid gray coloring. "My name is Leo Jackson and I am a retired historian."

Adair smiled at him warmly then announced, "well most everyone already knows who I am but for those that hadn't seen me..." Adair became Jake. "I am Jake Clawson, ex-enforcer and presently a mechanic working in the Megakat City Salvage Yard." Then he changed to Razor. "I'm sure I don't have to tell who I am now," he said, mildly amused. There were gasps of shocked surprise from those that hadn't been there when he first revealed himself or hadn't believed what they'd been told. "I must ask that my identity as a SWAT Kat never be revealed to Katkind. My usefulness would be lost and my partner's life put in jeopardy by our other enemies."

Emboldened by two of their most powerful and oldest dragons, others began to follow suit. It took more than an hour and a half but finally nearly all attending had revealed who and what they were. For their historical records, a scribe took down everyone's Kat and Dragon names, occupation, and addresses with phone numbers. The very small minority that refused to reveal, were not harassed or bothered about their decision.

Adair sighed in relief. With that taken care of, he presented the last piece of business that had everyone up in arms. Still a bit unsettled by what they had done, the community waited to hear what their oracle dragon had to say, hoping it wasn't more upsetting news.

"I know you're all tired of me now but since you were all too upset earlier, I wasn't able to tell you more about the other lost one who showed up to aid me during the battle with Dark Kat. Here is where knowing who we are as Kats became an issue in the first place. It turns out the lost one was none other than the city's Chief Enforcer, Ulysses Feral," Adair said, dropping the bomb and getting the expected result.

A ripple of exclamations of shock and surprise flew around the room at that revelation. Ignoring the commotion, he pressed on to say, "this lost one is only ninety years old, has lived on his own since his early seventy's, and had managed to not only survive but take his own future into his paws and joined the enforcers. He worked his way up the ranks swiftly to be the leader you see today. I've had the privilege of speaking with him and am very impressed by his firm morals and honesty. He never took the rogue way even though his father and grandfather felt punishment in the form of physical abuse and emotional deprivation were the proper way to raise a hatchling.

Loud cries of outrage and anger drowned out what else Adair wanted to say. He was forced to wait until the angry fervor died down.

His friend Comack spoke over the gradually quieting room, to declare, "I was there when he was revealed and I can tell you he was quite the warrior. He used his enforcer trained skills to help Adair take out Dark Kat but it was obvious the poor thing hadn't seen a gentle touch or kind word most of his life."

"Yes my friend. Ulysses is a very lonely hatchling who desperately wanted someone to care for him. His father nor grandfather promised to mentor him. You can imagine just how furious that made me. I was so amazed by his bravery, intelligence, and strength of will that I decided to be that mentor and gave him my promise. Know now, that I, Adair, give the hatchling and lost one known as Ulysses Feral, my protection," Adair announced formally.

The attending dragons roared their approval and acknowledgment of the promise. When they calmed down once more, Adair continued.

"He's a bit nervous and worried about how he will be received by the community. It seems his family believed being in Kat form and totally abandoning their dragon one, was the best way to protect themselves from hunters. Unfortunately, they were wrong. That was how his family was decimated leaving him the only survivor. So being a dragon is still very new to him and for that reason, I'm allowing him time to **be** a dragon before formally introducing him to you. Please honor that wish and leave him in peace until I say otherwise," he added.

"Huh! You have your work cut out for you," Sushimi chimed in, snorting in amusement. His injured wing carefully supported by a metal framework and sticking out to the side like the sail on a boat. "I've heard how hidebound, stubborn and hot tempered he is."

Adair snorted back and smiled. "You don't know the half of it. Dealing with him as a SWAT Kat, I bore the brunt of most of his ire. He is already finding it difficult to switch mental gears to treat me with respect rather than think of me as a too young and brash Kat. He'll be a pawful alright but I have no doubts he'll be a valuable asset to the community when he reaches adulthood. Right now, though, he's very shy and nervous about this dramatic change in his life. It will take time for him to come around to being who he really is."

"Poor thing. I'm glad he's been found and I can't think of a better person to help him adjust than you Adair," Trimaris said warmly.

Murmurs of agreement came his way from most of the dragons in the room, none objecting to Adair taking on the responsibility of training and acclimating the newest member of the community nor waiting to accept him when he was ready. Pleased that matter had been dealt with so easily, Adair now addressed another, more serious matter.

"There's just one more issue to be addressed then you may all take off." Groans met that announcement but Adair ignored it. "There are many of you still upset by the fact my partner T-Bone was in the area of our home. I swear to you by my blood and family that he never saw the lair's exact location and even if he had, he can be trusted to never betray us. Does anyone have any further objections to him knowing about us and having been close to the citadel?"

There was a brief spat of discussion but after some twenty minutes, heads shook in the negative. Only one or two older dragons seemed still unhappy but made no objection and none requested any action against T-Bone.

Sighing in relief, he smiled at everyone and said, "okay, then that's it and you can finally go about your business, we're done here." Cheers met that announcement and there was a mass evacuation from the chamber though none left the mountain as yet since it was still daylight.

Adair sighed, sinking down to a reclining position near his friends. He had no desire to leave and wanted to just talk and relax, winding down after such a trying twenty-four hours.

"You did it! I'm amazed you really pulled it off," Meris said, admiringly.

The red dragon smiled and shrugged, saying easily, "I'd like to think it was just time to be dealt with and many felt the same."

"It still wouldn't have happened if you hadn't pushed the issue, Adair, so no false modesty now," Sushimi insisted, smiling warmly.

Adair blushed and dipped his head at all the congratulations.

Trimaris dipped his broad head down and nuzzled Adair warmly. "You have done a great service to your kind and we are very grateful. But I'm not so overcome by the success to not be a bit cautious still about our future. There will strife, disagreements, some clashes with Kats, and other misunderstandings waiting for us in the wings but this has been a good start."

"Yeah, I certainly am aware of that and will most likely be at the heart of most of it as a SWAT Kat along side Feral who will find his job more of a trial when he too reveals himself. Only time will tell how it all falls out," Adair murmured then changed the subject a bit. "Hey, I was surprised to learn you are an engineer, Sushimi but not that you were a historian, Trimaris," he said with pleased good humor.

Sushimi smiled, a little self conscious. "Thanks and I was also amazed to learn you are an enforcer Byron."

Byron shrugged his shoulders. "I've always protected the underdog and I found the enforcers the best place to help others, though you could have knocked me over with a feather when I learned my own superior is a dragon and younger than me!" He snorted in amusement.

"Oh, now that's going to cause some problems. Feral does intend to reveal himself when he gets over his nervousness about it and though you are older, you will have to still show him respect for the position he holds. However, in private, I'm sure he wouldn't mind some dragon tips from you as well as providing him an ear that will listen, when I'm not available," Adair suggested warmly.

"I hadn't thought of that, but you're right and I'd be pleased to help him when he needs it. I always felt he was rather lonely...now I know why. He's never had anyone to confide in so that could have contributed to his more abrasive mannerisms," Byron said, thoughtfully.

"Could be," Adair agreed, shrugging. "You being a teacher, now that was a surprise, Comack."

The golden grinned, giving an 'aw shucks' look. "I've always loved the little ones. They are so eager to learn and I enjoy it a lot."

"I think that's so sweet. I have to say, being in the open like this will be great for my business," Meris added, smirking.

"Oh, I just bet it will. Being a lawyer, especially a criminal one, is probably going to come in handy some time soon," Byron snorted.

"Well, what's next on your list of things for the community to be shocked about, Adair," Byron said archly.

Adair rolled his eyes but said, "the only thing left is finding the lost ones...you know that."

"Yeah, but I still don't know how we're going to do that. Unless they come out voluntarily, we're still not going to find them," Byron said, more seriously.

"Yes, I know but all we can do is be available when they do and that means being a dragon among the Kats more frequently."

Everyone around the red shivered nervously. "Yeah, that's all we have to do but we're still too nervous to do it yet!" Meris grimaced.

"Give it time," Trimaris murmured encouragingly.

They could only agree that it would take time but soon the skies over Megakat City would have flights of dragons soaring over it...Adair was certain of it.


	16. Chapter 16

**THERE BE DRAGONS!**

**Chapter 16: The Commander's a Dragon?**

Chance felt odd being alone after sharing space with someone for so many years but not as difficult as getting used to having a dragon as a best friend. It had truly been a shocking revelation the day of the unveiling but, now, after so many months, it was becoming easier. Though, it didn't hurt that Jake's Kat disguise was so flawless the tabby nearly forgot it wasn't the tom's true appearance.

But all that had been completely over-shadowed by these new revelations...learning Feral and Dark Kat were dragons as well. What a shock to hear the temper-prone commander wasn't even a Kat ... but the kicker had been hearing just how young Feral truly was.

Realizing the older appearing tom was really only in his late teens compared to Chance's more adult twenty-eight Kat years (though he was still trying to wrap his mind around the fact Feral had lived ninety years on the planet but was still considered a hatchling... too strange...and that Jake was waaaay older than both of them...like centuries...) had truly blown him away. However, now some of Feral's abrasive and arrogant behavior was understandable.

Most teens acted snotty and were arrogant know-it-alls at that age. That thought made the tabby roar with laughter but it was brief as his thoughts grew serious again. Most teens didn't have as hard a life as Feral had to endure. Which made his ability to perform like an adult among a different species than himself and survive completely on his own without a support system truly extraordinary. That alone had earned him Chance's respect and admiration.

As for Dark Kat, that creature was a different story. Though Chance did have a moment of pity for the poor creature's life when growing up, he couldn't forgive the horror and pain the omega had visited on Megakat City's people over the past decade. There was no excuse for him to turn on all Kats because of a few that had tormented him. He wouldn't have blamed Dark Kat for taking out the ones that harmed him but not all the innocents as well. To Chance it spoke of a weak personality that gave into the evil side of itself rather than stand strong like Feral had. He was glad the omega was dead.

His thoughts were interrupted by the loud growling of his empty stomach ...he needed to focus on something else...like dinner...he was famished.

Making his way upstairs to their apartment, he ruminated about how much their world was changing and how he needed to adjust quickly as he knew he and Jake would become embroiled in keeping the peace alongside the Enforcers when conflict between dragons and Kats inevitably cropped up. It was going to take some time for the population to learn to come to terms with the fact they weren't the only species in their city. Especially, when the skies filled with dragons soaring over their heads on a daily basis.

Hmm, come to think of it, he better suggest to Jake that his fellow dragons should be outfitted with transponders. They didn't need near misses in the airspace they all shared. That venue was busy enough with regular planes let alone Enforcer patrols by jet and chopper...then you throw in the dragons and you'd have a real mess.

To make things even more chaotic, when Feral revealed himself, his Enforcers were going to be distracted and upset giving the other omegas, still on the loose, a perfect opening to attack the city. Yeah, things were about to become even more unsettled than they were already.

~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~

Commander Feral still couldn't bring himself to reveal his dragon identity to his Enforcers and the world. It made his fur rise and skin tighten with fear and nerves every time he thought about it.

More than three weeks had past since a large number of the dragon community had revealed their Kat identities to each other. Though his mentor said he was being given time to adjust before being introduced to the community, he didn't believe he would ever be able to do what Adair asked of him.

However, when the two of them met in what was becoming their special place, Adair had made it abundantly clear that even though there was no time limit for him on revealing, that didn't mean he could let this go on for months.

"As I told you before Ulysses, it won't get any easier the longer you wait. More of our dragon brethren will get brave enough to reveal and it might not look good for your reputation if you're still in the closet when that happens and the public begin reacting to their appearance then learn you're one too. Not good timing," he said, pointedly.

"What we need, is for you to be in the forefront. Having known you as someone with integrity and a vested interest in their safety, proven over years of dedication as their Chief Enforcer, it is hoped the public will find the changes not to difficult to accept. With luck, only the small, bigoted part of the population that hates any kind of change will be all we have to contend with. Though, I'm not fool enough to believe everything will be all brotherly and nice. I'm not prone to wishful thinking," he snorted ruefully.

"You got that right. There's already been some serious clashes, fortunately on a small scale but..."

"...it takes only one loud, charismatic, dissenter to really stir up the masses and force the fence sitters to pick a side...yes I know." Adair huffed out a sulfurous sigh of disgust at that truism.

"Even knowing all that, I still find it terrifying to reveal what I am," Feral admitted, ashamed he couldn't find the courage to do this very important thing.

The red dragon reached out a clawed finger and raised the hatchling's head up so those golden eyes were forced to stare into the ruby ones that showed only sympathy and understanding in their depths.

"I know, truly I do. You're not a coward, Ulysses, it's only the past that holds you back. You were treated so poorly during your formative years that you are now afraid to step out of your comfort zone that you created to protect yourself. We understand this, which is why all of us are being so patient with you. Ninety years cannot be erased in a few weeks, but I and the rest of the community will do all we can to help you past that, I promise."

Feral stared into those warm, understanding eyes and almost cried. It was so strange but wonderful to have someone who truly cared how he felt and didn't belittle or punish him because he was having difficulties. He rubbed his face against the elder's paw, begging for comfort.

Smiling gently, Adair obliged, pulling Feral close and scratching behind the hatchling's ears then between his horns eliciting a purr of pleasure and a sigh signifying how comfortable and safe the young one felt in his arms.

~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~

Feral felt much better when he left for home a little later but still hesitant to reveal himself despite the very good reasons that he should do this and quickly... but courage was still lacking which was hilarious considering his bravery in the face of everything else he'd faced in his life up to now.

So he delayed and put off until an odd emergency that only dragons could solve forcefully shoved him out of the closet. And it had a silver lining as well, giving dragons another chance to show how integral they could be as part of the city's defense force. So Feral couldn't really complain later about being revealed in such an abrupt fashion.

The incident happened a week after his meeting with his mentor. Alarms went off at the Biochemical's huge storage plant on the edge of the city where their enormous chemical tanks were maintained. A high fence and adequate security protected the plant from intruders but it wasn't a security breach that turned out to be the culprit but a faulty valve.

Gases had built up in one of the tanks and the automatic release valve that would normally relieve the pressure had malfunctioned. The result was a massive explosion that shook the city, violently.

~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~

"What the heck was that?" Chance asked as the ground suddenly rolled beneath his feet.

Before Jake could respond the sound of the explosion arrived seconds later.

"Whoa!" Jake exclaimed then rushed outside their garage and stared in the direction of the explosion where a huge plume of gas and smoke was rising into the sky.

"Crud! Isn't that where Biochemical has its tanks?" Chance shouted.

"Yes and we'd better scat and see if there's anything we can do to help...come on!" His friend said worriedly, turning away to run to the back of the garage.

Chance followed, pausing only long enough to put their 'out on a tow' sign out and close the doors.

Within minutes they were airborne and flying toward the toxic cloud that was already being pushed toward the city on swiftly prevailing winds.

~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~

The monitoring system for the city, located in the heart of Enforcer Headquarters, had already been alerted, giving Feral and his Enforcers a heads up at the same time the ground shakes told them an explosion had occurred.

Scrambling a squadron, Feral was already on his way by chopper to the plant with the entirety of Alpha Chopper Squadron behind him. They hadn't needed to get that close to see the cloud heading toward them. Feral immediately ordered his troops to avoid and circle around the cloud until they knew what it was composed of for their safety.

As they passed over the plant, they could see that one of the huge tanks was actively on fire but the fire control team on site were already handling it. Feral signaled half his squadron to circle and monitor the gas cloud while the rest were to land with him. Once down, he leaped from the cockpit before the blades had even stopped spinning.

The plant manager and his head of security had seen them coming and ran to meet him halfway. Feral could see the plant workers not involved with the fire or repair needs, were watching from a safe distance. Things on the ground seemed to be well controlled.

"Any injuries or casualties?" He asked of the manager.

"No, we were lucky there. No one was near the tank when it blew but Commander, that cloud...it's toxic and if it doesn't change direction, it will drift over the city then sink to building level in thirty minutes then street level shortly after. It can and will either make people ill or kill them. It has to somehow be forced to veer away or be dispersed but I have no idea how we're going to do that. I strongly urge you have the Mayor declare a state of emergency and have people in the affected area evacuated until the gas disperses on its own."

Feral frowned as he stared upward and studied the path the cloud was taking. He shook his head, the winds were strong today and the cloud of toxic gas was moving fairly quickly toward the heart of the city. It would be nice to think the winds would just keep sweeping it further out to the bay but this city was never that lucky and waiting was definitely not a good idea. Unfortunately, evacuating the area affected wouldn't work either as there was no telling what part of the city the cloud would drift to and settle and besides, they just didn't have time.

No something else had to be done.

Frowning, he asked, "If this was on the ground, what would you have done to be rid of it?"

"Would have used flame throwers to burn it off quicker but since that's not the case, we have no way to generate enough flames safely enough to do that in the air," the manager said, shaking his head. "Besides, even if we did have some kind of weapon or device that could do it, the size of the cloud would mean a really big fire and that's too big to keep contained and prevent it from setting nearby buildings aflame."

"I understand. Just one more question...there's no chance of it igniting into a fireball when flamed?"

The manager could only gape at the Commander as if the tom had lost his mind. But he could see Feral was dead serious. "I don't know what you're thinking, but, no, it won't ignite, just burn off safely. What the heck do you..."

But Feral was already hurrying away toward his chopper while pulling out his communicator, the special one Razor had given him for private conversations with his mentor. His solution had to be presented to the only one who could tell him if his idea was even feasible.

~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~

Flicking the communicator on, Feral waited for a response from its mate above him.

Razor pulled the buzzing communicator from his pocket, surprise on his face as he flicked it on. "Yes?"

"Sir, I have an idea on how to clear the gas which is toxic and, though moving fairly quickly from the winds, there's no guarantee it will move past the city. There's every possibility it could pause and sink to building level where it poses a deadly threat to the public. There's simply no time to evacuate people especially if we don't know where it might drop down."

T-Bone was startled by the way Feral addressed Razor then realized instantly that the tom was calling his mentor, not the SWAT Kat persona Razor wore, and had made that clear by his form of address.

Razor was surprised by contact as well, but answered quickly, "You have an idea...I'm listening." Feral explained his proposal. His mentor was silent for a long moment before saying, "Excellent solution and one we can do, however, the problem is two-fold...reaching enough dragons and praying they have enough courage to respond to our plea."

"Yes, sir...I understand. For the first problem...we can have our plea broadcasted by the news chopper that just arrived. The second problem will just have to solve itself."

Razor glanced out their window, sure enough, away from the cloud of gas but near enough to get it on camera, flew the Kat's Eye News chopper. "Agreed! Go for it and since it's your suggestion it will have to be you that makes the plea."

Swallowing down his fear Feral said, tightly, "Understood, sir!" He pocketed his communicator and headed for his chopper. Climbing aboard, he engaged the radio, calling the dispatcher. He ordered an open frequency that got him connected with the news crews chopper pilot who, in turn, connected him with Ann Gora.

"Yes, Commander?" She shouted, the noise of her chopper nearly drowning her out.

"Ann, I need your help to stop that cloud from reaching the city. It's very toxic and can kill. There's no time to evacuate those in its path so we need to do the next best thing."

"What would that be?"

"A call to dragons. They can burn the cloud off. On the authority of an elder dragon, I have been given permission to do this but I need your help to call them."

"Wow! You got it, Commander. Be down to meet you in a few minutes..." she paused to call to the pilot, Al, over her radio and ordered him to land then turned back to Feral to say, "...were coming down now."

"Copy that!" Feral put his radio away and climbed out of his chopper.

The news chopper came in quickly and landed not far from his own bird, shutting its engines down. Ann and her camerakat climbed out and hurried to his side.

As she reached him, she asked, "Are you sure you'll be able to convince them to answer your call, Commander. They still seem too fearful about revealing themselves and why would they have any reason to listen to anything you have to say?"

Feral felt his heart stutter with fear and looked away to give himself time to gather his courage. His eyes fell on the cloud...it seemed to be moving faster and getting lower to the ground ... time was running out. What he had to do next was the hardest thing in his life.

Butterflies swarmed his stomach but he turned resolutely back to Ann and her camera. Now or never. "Begin the broadcast, Ann. They'll listen to me," he said firmly.

Eyeing him closely a moment, Ann came to a decision. Nodding at her camera Kat, she said, "Alright Jonny let's do this. On my mark, one...two...three..._this is Ann Gora from Kat's Eye News at the scene of the explosion that occurred at the Biochemical plant outside town. A toxic cloud of gas is moving quickly toward the city but Commander Feral has a plan to deal with it before anyone can come to harm. To do this he needs all dragons within the sound of my voice to listen to his message."_ She paused and turned to Feral while making a cutting motion to Jonny to halt the transmission for a moment. The tom nodded then turned his camera to focus on Feral...waiting for the signal to resume filming.

Ann held out her mike to Feral but he waved her off. "You'd best stand back a bit Ann, then hold the mike upward. You'll see why in a second."

Ann looked confused only a moment when, in the blink of an eye, Feral went from the imposing dark tom in the Commander's uniform to a huge golden dragon.

Lowering his head, Feral eyed her with his beautiful golden jeweled eyes and said, "Sorry about that but there's really little time to explain things now. Are you ready?"

"Huh? Oh yes, Commander... uh...go ahead," the normally unflappable Ann blurted, holding the mike upward and signaling Jonny to resume broadcasting.

_"Attention my fellow dragons. This is Commander Feral. We desperately need your assistance to burn off the toxic gas cloud before it can lower to the ground and harm people. We have less than thirty minutes before it reaches the heart of the city. I and Adair beg you to drop your fear and come to our aid. Please hurry and, for your safety, avoid flying into it. We'll be waiting. Thank you!"_ Feral nodded his huge head at Ann that he was done.

She stepped back a bit and signaled Jonny to cut the feed again then stared up at Feral with stunned eyes. "Isn't Adair the red dragon who first revealed himself in the science magazine?"

"Yes, he's an elder dragon and he's nearby waiting for me. I just hope others answer our plea. Now excuse me, I have to get airborne."

"You owe me an interview, Commander," she shouted. He just nodded as he leaped into the air, down thrusting with his wings, nearly knocking both Kats over as he grabbed air and headed upward.

~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~

"Wow! He did it! He actually did it!" T-Bone said, amazed and pleased. The Turbokat had been hovering above watching and had seen Feral change before the cameras.

"Yeah he certainly did. I'm very proud of him but I'm willing to bet his butterflies have butterflies," Razor chuckled. "I'd better go join him, buddy. Go hide in the clouds so I can get off without being seen by the Enforcers."

"Roger." When he'd flown the jet into a nice thick, cloud bank, T-Bone called over his headset, "Be careful out there, sureshot."

"I will! Take station keeping and don't get too close."

"Copy that!"

~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~

Razor bailed out the side door and changed his form in free fall. He'd just gotten his wings going when Feral soared up to meet him. "I'm very proud of you, my little hatchling," he said warmly when Feral drew close enough to hear him.

Feral ducked his head and blushed at the compliment. "Thank you, sir." He smiled shyly before turning serious again. "Will any come? We're running out of time." His gaze went to the cloud which was alarmingly closer to the city now.

"Yes...at least the ones who helped before...as for the others...we'll just have to wait and see." Adair sighed. He hoped they were in time and that enough showed up.


	17. Chapter 17

**THERE BE DRAGONS!**

**Chapter 17: Dragons to the Rescue**

T-Bone was getting nervous as he flew behind the pair of dragons hanging in the air waiting. That gas cloud was just passing the end of Megakat International Airport's flight line and still no sign of dragons.

"Crud! Where are they?"

Suddenly something brightly colored passed over the cockpit. T-Bone blinked then more colors flew past. He whooped as he saw all the many colored dragons come flying from all directions to join the pair waiting.

Soon there were more than twenty dragons flying toward the gas cloud. He stayed where he was and watched in fascination as the flight of dragons formed a circle around the cloud and flames began to be seen.

As they began their work, T-Bone realized there might not be enough to do the job but he needn't have worried as more dragons began to appear until there were so many he could no longer really see the gas cloud any longer, only the flames flickering from over a hundred throats.

The flying wedge kept up with the cloud as it got smaller and smaller until it was no more, then the flight lead by a big red dragon, headed back to the plant and circled the area taking care of any of the gas still lingering from the exploded tank, the fire having already been put out successfully by the fire department.

As quickly as they appeared, the flight broke up and vanished high in the sky where no one could follow them except for the Turbokat who took off after them and vanished as well.

In the news chopper, Ann Gora, felt exhilarated. What a fantastic display of dragons and they got it all on tape. But the biggest news was finding out Commander Feral was a dragon. She could hardly wait to interview him. Wait...where had he gone? There had been so many dragons, some of them golden like Feral, she'd lost sight of him when they dispersed.

"Jonny did you see where Feral got to?" She turned to ask her camerakat through their helmet radio.

"Over there Ann, he's heading back to Enforcer Headquarters."

She looked out the canopy of the chopper and sure enough, there was a golden dragon winging toward the city. Calling to the pilot, she instructed him to follow that dragon. Giving a grunt and a sigh, the pilot simply turned his chopper and headed after the dragon.

~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~

Feral's heart pounded in his ears. He had hesitated a moment, trying to decide if he should return to his Kat form or go back to headquarters as he was. Looking down at the ground, he could see the fire department cleaning up and many of the plant workers still milling around.

As he circled to study the scene, he could see things were well in paw and one of his officers was already doing the investigation so there was no need for him to land. Everyone was pointing and staring up at him and he knew the word had already reached his enforcers about what he was.

Sighing, he decided he didn't want to be hassled or gawked at by those below, it was going to be hard enough facing his enforcers at headquarters. So he winged away from the plant and headed back to his office. He would send someone back for his chopper.

Flying through the city canyons felt rather exhilarating. An ache he'd had for so long eased with the freedom to soar openly. When he'd gone to see Adair, he'd gone under cover of night and hadn't veered from his established flight path at any time. This...doing it in the daylight...was amazing. He felt truly like a dragon for the first time in his life.

However, all too soon his flight was at an end as the huge enforcer complex appeared before him. Unwilling to land yet, he flew around the building slowly. He startled everyone in the control tower, who stared and pointed at him in excitement as he passed by the windows slowly and looked in at them. Delaying long enough, he came down on the flight line like a feather, folding his enormous wings to his back and eyeing the security force that had formed a line some distance from the main hangars with weapons drawn, uncertain of who he was or his intentions.

Standing behind them, watching worriedly were Steele and Sgt Fallon.

Feral walked cautiously forward while security remained where they were, waiting for him to make the first move. His golden eyes watched them warily, but he was pleased at their alertness and the fact they hadn't taken the reports they'd heard for granted. He could be an enemy dragon for all they knew and until he identified himself, they would keep him under careful watch.

Before he could give identification so they could stand down, the buzz of a chopper approaching caught his attention. Looking up he saw it was Kat's Eye News.

Since he'd not be given the right to land on a military platform, the pilot kept his distance and hovering, waiting for permission.

Sighing, Feral spoke up, his voice booming and very familiar to the troops. "I am Feral. Stand down. Steele...give the news chopper leave to land."

Everyone within the sound of his voice jolted in shock and amazement. The reports had been true, their leader was a dragon. Still stunned, Steele nearly dropped his radio as he hurriedly obeyed Feral's order.

The security team flipped their weapons to station keeping but didn't leave as they stood at attention and stared in outright fascination.

Meanwhile, the news chopper carefully landed on the flight line. As its blades began to wind down, Ann and Jonny climbed out and walked toward the dragon.

Steele and Sgt Fallon came through the still standing line of security to join them. Soon the four were standing before the huge golden dragon.

Ann quickly had her camerakat set up and began recording as soon as she was standing near the dragon_. "...this is Ann Gora of Kats Eye News coming to you live from the enforcer flight line with Commander Feral who you can all tell is a bonifide dragon himself. He and his fellow dragons have just saved the city." _She turned to face the Commander as Jonny changed the focus to the two of them.

"_Commander, congratulations on being able to get your fellow dragons to come to the city's aid in snuffing out the deadly gas cloud that was created by the explosion nearly everyone heard from the Biochemical Plant. That was an amazing display of dragon capabilities and shows graphically how useful dragons can be in protecting the city they live in. You must be very relieved and proud as dragon kind have been rather nervous about coming out," _she said brightly for the camera.

"_Thank you Ann. Yes, I am very pleased so many answered the call and were able to overcome their fear of exposure. With this revealing, hopefully they will be more comfortable showing themselves more frequently. The danger at the Biochemical Plant is over. All the gas has been burned off and the tank fire has been contained. An investigation is underway to determine what caused the explosion in the first place," _Feral said, in his usual manner for reporting such things on camera even though it felt odd doing it in this form.

Privately, he appreciated her unexpected approval and support of what they'd done. It was just the right thing to say to help their cause.

"_Thank you, Commander. Would you return to your normal form so those watching will believe what I've told them?" _Ann asked.

Feral nodded, understanding her need to do this and in the blink of an eye, he was once more the familiar dark tom in the enforcer uniform.

Smiling in the camera, Ann said, _"Thank you Commander. There you are folks, our own Chief Enforcer is a beautiful golden dragon. For those who are just tuning in please catch the news at seven and eleven to see the amazing footage on dragons saving Megakat City. Hopefully, if he consents, I'll have the lowdown on why the Commander felt the need to hide what he is. Until then, this is Ann Gora of Kat's Eye News signing off." _Grinning happily at the scoop of a lifetime, Ann signaled Jonny to cut the broadcast and handed her mike to him. He walked off, heading back to the chopper while she paused to speak to the big tom.

"When you have time, Commander. Could we set up an interview to answer the question the viewers are going to ask about why you felt a need to hide yourself?"

Grimacing, he looked off over the flight line a moment. He knew this was going to happen and wanted to speak to Jake about how to handle it. Personally, he didn't want to talk about it at all because it might give Kats the wrong impression about him. He certainly didn't want them to realize he was but a hatchling and not considered an adult at all by dragon standards. Chewing his lip, he didn't know how to answer her right now. An unexpected light touch to his arm, startled him. He blinked in surprise as he stared into a concerned pair of brown eyes.

It hadn't missed Ann's sharp eyes how reluctant Feral was on this delicate subject despite how cooperative he'd been during the broadcast. Having read up on everything she could about dragons, she understood the main reason for their hiding centuries ago but not why they still did so now. She had hoped Feral might give her a clue but it seemed this might be very difficult for him by how he reacted to the request.

"You seem...uneasy...this is a scary subject for you isn't it?" She asked, carefully, concern shining from her eyes.

He blinked at her in surprise. Ann wasn't normally known for being concerned for others welfare especially if it meant getting a juicy story but in this instance, she seemed genuinely concerned about what he was feeling.

Eyeing her a moment longer before coming up with an answer, he said cautiously. "Let's just say, I'm a little tense about how I had to reveal myself for the first time and will need time to adjust and yes, it's a bit scary and life changing for me."

Her eyebrows rose as she eyed him intently. "Really? I must say, if you were that afraid to reveal yourself, you showed just how brave you were to do it anyway. Look, this needn't be a tell all type of interview...only speak about why you hid and what your plans are for the future. The public does not need to know your whole life story."

He stared at her in stunned disbelief. This was a side of Ann he'd never seen before. It left him a little off balanced and confused. "Okay, that sounds alright to me but give me a little time first."

"Sure, no problem. When you're ready just contact me but don't wait to long or the public might form their own opinion and it may not be favorable to you," she warned, gently.

Feral nodded his head, she was very right about that, as he well knew having dealt with the fickle public enough himself. "I promise...it will be very soon and thank you for your understanding."

"You're welcome," she said, flashing him a warm smile that seemed to hold more in it than he could interpret. "See you later, Commander." She turned and went back to her chopper. Minutes later, the chopper lifted skyward and headed toward the Megakat Broadcasting Building.

Feral was still a bit stunned that the normally aggressive reporter had shown a more soft side, as she tried to soothe him as well as congratulate him on his brave action. Shaking his head, he filed the oddness away and headed toward the hangar with Steele and Fallon trailing behind at a discrete distance, seeming uncertain how to approach him.

As he walked through the pilot prep area, he was hard put to ignore the many nervous and questioning looks he was getting.

Sighing mentally as he caught an elevator, he realized he needed to call a mass staff meeting asap to halt any panic, anger, and upset among his troops. Also, he needed to send someone to retrieve his chopper and check with the officers he left on the scene about the status of the investigation into why the tank exploded.

It was going to be a long day.

~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~

High in a cloud bank, Adair soared close to the Turbokat that was holding position not far away and glided close to the door he'd leapt through just a little while ago. Grasping the door with a firm claw, he changed from dragon to Razor once more and swung the rest of the way inside then sealing the door firmly before moving across the cargo hold and up the ladder to his seat.

Latching himself into his ejector seat, he called out to T-Bone over their comm, "Let's go home, buddy."

"Copy that!" T-Bone said, happily, switching from VTOL to forward and flying the jet toward their hidden hangar. "Hey, Razor. How do you think Feral will do handling his enforcers now that they've found out he's a dragon?"

"We talked about it. He planned on having a staff meeting and getting the word out to his troops as soon as possible to stave off a possible riot among his troops."

"Aww...it really shouldn't get that bad..."

"No, but...things have been happening too fast, T-Bone and no ones really had much time to adjust yet. Hell, it might take a couple of years before everyone is at least comfortable with the idea."

T-Bone snorted at that comment. "Hey, this is Megakat City you're talking about! The weird is a regular occurrence around here and we adjust pretty darn quickly, if you ask me."

"Yeah, you're right and that's why I'm glad we did our reveal here." Razor sighed, relaxing.

He was truly happy at how the day had gone and grateful they finally showed themselves in force for the first time in centuries. He hoped the momentum wouldn't slow and that more of his kind would brave the skies and fly about in the daytime at last.

Only time would tell. Though T-Bone was right about Megakat Katizens adjusting more quickly than anywhere else, it didn't mean things would go that swimmingly yet. Troubled times were coming, he was certain of that.


	18. Chapter 18

**THERE BE DRAGONS!**

**Chapter 18: The Dragon Commander**

Feral steamed through the pilot's prep area as if his tail were on fire and headed straight for the elevators with Fallon and Steele hurrying to keep up with him. They nearly had to jump aboard the elevator as Feral had already pressed the button. The pair maintained a small distance from their leader, still quite wary and nervous around him.

"Sergeant, call all squadron leaders and have them report to my conference room immediately. I want to address this matter before it causes fear and disruption among the ranks," Feral suddenly barked, startling the other two in the car with him.

"Yes sir," Fallon said briskly.

When the elevator door snapped open, Fallon quickly split off to head to his office while Steele reluctantly followed this strange creature he once thought was a Kat. He wasn't certain what to expect now but he was definitely feeling fear.

"Steele. I want you to followup on the incident at the Biochemical Labs. Get the onsite officer's report and have someone retrieve my chopper."

"Yes sir," Steele said briskly, relieved to be dismissed from the scary individual's presence and given a fairly simple task to complete. He continued on past the Commander's offices to his own down the hall.

Feral headed on into his office. Steele would have been surprised and shocked to learn that this formidable individual was just as afraid but hid it well. His stomach churned with butterflies, afraid of what his troops might think and how they would react. Years of warnings had been drummed into his head and it was hard to ignore them. But, perhaps that was exactly what they should know, he realized suddenly. It could defuse this situation if everyone knew that dragons were just as afraid of them. Though they'd been told about why dragons hid, it didn't seemed to have registered just how afraid dragon kind had been and still were of what Kats could do to them still.

I need to make them see that and then perhaps they'll understand and we'll all be on equal footing. It couldn't hurt to try, he sighed. Keeping that in mind, Feral prepared the speech he would give to his officers shortly.

Some thirty minutes later, nervous eyes stared at Feral as he stood before them at the head of the conference table. The rumor mill had must have worked overtime for all of these guys to know what happened, he snorted, mentally.

"I have no doubt the rumors about what happened just a few hours ago are racing around the building. Which is why I've brought you here to insure what gets passed is the truth and not some mishmash of it," he began bluntly. "Yes I am a dragon not a Kat. Why didn't I show myself when the dragons first revealed themselves? Because my family was terrified of the dragon hunters and felt segregating themselves from dragon kind and taking their kat form permanently, would keep them safe. But hiding didn't work as the hunters found us; killing my mother first, then father a few years later, and finally my grandfather a few years after that. Only I managed to escape and survive even though I was really too young to be on my own. I had been trained never to take dragon form so to survive without my family and make a living, I joined the Enforcer Academy and buried myself deep within your ranks, never taking my true form until just recently." He paused a moment to take a drink from the water bottle on the table in front of him.

Every face in the room stared at him in shocked denial.

"Who were these dragon hunters, sir, and why would hiding among us and not your own kind keep you safe?" One of his officers asked, a troubled expression on his face.

Feral shook his head. "How many of you read or heard the report on dragons that came out during our reveal?" He asked instead.

Of the some thirty people there only half raised their paws. Feral sighed and shook his head. "Then your assignment is to read it. Most all your questions about our history and about us will be answered there. But a thumbnail explanation for now is; Kat kind decided to get greedy centuries ago and began to fight over land with dragons who were their peaceful neighbors. Being fewer than Kats due to our lower breeding rate, we were forced to leave but that wasn't good enough for a small faction of Kats who decided we should be exterminated and became vicious and efficient hunters at their task, nearly decimating us. To survive, we developed a spell to allow us to take your form then went about living among you, hiding in plain sight as it were. But some of my kind were still too fearful and chose to hide from dragon kind too and that's what happened with my family."

"But when your family was killed, sir, why didn't you join the dragon community for safety? You said you were too young, how old were you?" Another asked, puzzled.

Feral grimaced. "I'd rather not say. Dragon and kat ages are vastly different as we're a much longer lived species than you but mature at a much slower rate. As for joining the dragon community...one I didn't know they existed and two, I'd been strictly forbidden to talk or reveal myself to a dragon not of my family."

"But you did finally, Commander. Why?" Colonel Fairclaw, Alpha Tank Squadron Leader asked.

"My duty!" Feral said wearily. "When the other dragons were fighting Dark Kat and my jet had been shot down, I was alone, and my radio busted, I simply couldn't stand by while they did my job. But the only option left to me was my true form. I made the most difficult decision of my life and went into battle as a dragon."

"It must have been a shock to learn a whole dragon community was here then forced yourself to actually join them like that, Commander. I applaud your bravery to get past what must of been truly a frightening decision," Colonel Fairclaw said, commiserating with Feral's situation and admiring his courage.

Feral felt a blush heat his face for a moment. He'd never expected sympathy from one of his officers and didn't know how to react but it did warm his heart.

"Uhm...thank you. It was frightening especially when the elder dragon who ultimately brought down Dark Kat's...uh... mountain along with the SWAT Kats, took me to task for interfering," Feral said, nearly giving away how Dark Kat truly died. He just wasn't that good at lying.

"But you weren't interfering! It's the Enforcers job to take out the omegas not civilians, even if they are dragons," Steele objected.

Feral shook his head. "I wasn't there as an Enforcer but as a very young dragon. The elders protect their hatchlings fiercely and were unhappy to see me mixing it up with a dangerous criminal. Remember, they had no idea who I was and the situation didn't allow me time to identify myself. Only after the battle did they learn I had a right to be there but by then it was too late to take command over the situation."

Steele frowned at that then asked, "You're really that young,sir? Just how old is this elder and who is he to you now?"

"Yes I'm considered rather young as a dragon and the elder is over four hundred years old and my mentor."

Mouths gaped at that number. "Wow, you weren't kidding when you said your kind was long lived." Capt Brightlight, commander of Bravo Chopper Squadron, whistled. "So you must be a hundred or so, hmm?"

Feral just shrugged his shoulders and shook his head, ignoring the question. "Fighting beside my own kind was rather exhilarating and had a happy ending as I was accepted into the local dragon community."

"And that's important to you, sir?" Colonel Frank Tarbel, Alpha Ground Division Commander, asked, curiously.

"Since my father and grandfather insisted I be only in my kat form, I never really learned the things I should know to be a dragon. Adair, the red dragon elder has agreed to take me under his wing and train me in the ways of dragonkind."

Colonel Tarbel nodded his understanding.

"So how does what you really are affect us and you from this time forward, sir?" Steele asked for all.

"Only one thing changes. Since I am now revealed and no longer hiding, I will take back our city from the omegas. None of them really have any weapons that I can't shake off. Besides, I'm apparently not the only one hiding among the troops. Other dragons will come to my call and we'll finally have our city back and at peace again," Feral said passionately.

That declaration sparked a loud cheer from every throat in the room making Feral feel warm inside and finally vindicated. No longer would he have to put up with being disrespected by the Mayor's office and the press. Soon the Enforcers would be back on top which should help with recruitment of new blood as well.

When the cheering tapered off, Steele asked something a few of his fellow officers wanted to know as well."It must have been hell for you to hold back all this time, sir, especially, when you knew you could kick their tails."

Feral flashed his fangs a moment in a grimace of remembered frustration. "You have no idea!"

Colonel Fairclaw grinned broadly. "So now you don't have to, sir, and damn if that don't make us giddy with relief. Finally, we just might win our city back from this creeps at last. And as an extra bonus, we'll finally show up those two vigilantes in the public's eyes when we take the enemy first!"

His pronouncement made his fellow officers cheer wholeheartedly again much to Feral's pleased pride. Yes it was about time the Enforcers won and he could hardly wait for that first opportunity. Beating out those SWAT Kats was just icing on the cake but inside he winced a bit, remembering one of those SWAT Kats was his mentor. Oh well, nothing he could do about that as Adair hadn't told him he couldn't do his job and until he objected in some fashion, Feral planned on doing what he was trained to do with _all_ his skills at paw rather than one of them being tied behind his back. However, his troops would never learn that a SWAT Kat was his dragon mentor. He'd never live it down.

Relieved they were more pleased than unhappy that he was a dragon, he answered several more of their questions until they felt comfortable with the information they'd been given then dismissed them back to duty.

Returning to his office, he was in an expansive mood. Revealing himself had gone off far better than he'd hoped. However, there was still one more office he had to inform. He winced at what the Mayor would have to say about this.

Well, no point putting it off and best I do it in person. Sighing, he walked out of his office again, paused to tell his secretary where he was going, then took the elevator to the flight line.

On the ride upward, he tried to decide whether to go by chopper or fly there himself. When the doors slid open, he had decided flying would be fun. Walking past the pilot prep area, he strode through the hangar and out onto the windy surface of the flight line. Keeping an eye out for departing and landing choppers and jets, he walked a short distance away to a large cleared area then changed form in the blink of an eye.

The control tower was startled and unprepared for the sudden sight of the golden dragon taking off from just below the tower. They scrambled to redirect traffic to ensure none of their aircraft hit the beast as with one down stroke of its massive wings it shot skyward, passing the tower before leveling out and flying off toward the south.

The officer in charge of the tower muttered in annoyance, "Someone needs to tell the Commander he needs to request takeoff permission just like everyone else if he doesn't want to end up as sushi."

His lead controller snorted. "That someone is going to have to be you, sir and I don't envy you."

The office scowled in response without speaking. Why do I always get the shit jobs? Now I have to tell a dragon he needs to ask permission to take off and land on his own damn flight line...joy. I'll be lucky he doesn't flambee me first. Still grumbling to himself, he went back to work. He would speak to the Commander when he returned. As much as he hated seeing his formidable leader at all, this couldn't be ignored.

Not realizing what chaos he'd caused when leaving his building, Feral was more focused on exactly how much to tell the Mayor and Deputy Mayor. Callie would handle it fine, he was certain, but Manx...he would either faint or scream in fright.

Sighing, he landed on the chopper pad with ease, altered his form then walked to the clock tower door that lead to a small staircase which opened onto the Mayor's floor.

He lucked out running into Ms. Briggs just entering her office and called out to her.

"Ms. Briggs!"

She stopped and turned. "Oh, Commander...what brings you here?"

"You didn't hear the news about the explosion or felt it?" He asked, surprised. The plant explosion had shook the city hard, how had she missed it?

"Uh..I was in the council chambers in a meeting but we did feel a shake. However, since there were no alarms, we continued on. It was thought it might be a mild earthquake rather than an omega. Were we wrong?" She asked, worriedly.

"No, fortunately, it was not an omega attack but an accident at the Biochemical Plant tank facility outside town. Apparently a pressure valve failed and allowed gases in the tank to build and eventually blow the tank to pieces releasing a toxic gas cloud that began to drift over the city."

"Oh no!" She exclaimed but relaxed instantly. "No one was hurt I trust and the fact you're here and not there means all is well with the cloud too, right?"

Feral blushed and felt really uncomfortable admitting this but she would find out soon enough on the news. "Uh...let's go into your office first before I explain."

She eyed him in puzzlement but turned and stepped into her outer office and on into her inner sanctum. Why would the Commander seem uncomfortable about telling her about the accident? she wondered. Guess I'll find out.

Feral followed her and shut the door behind him as she took her seat behind her desk and waited for him to speak.

"No one at the plant was hurt. As for the cloud, the plant manager told me the best way to disperse it was to burn it off but we both knew that wasn't possible even if every chopper was equipped with a flame thrower. That left only one other option. Dragon's belch fire and it was they I called to help. Using Ann Gora who was on scene, as usual, I broadcasted a call to all dragons. Hundreds came running and together we burned off the gas before it could harm anyone," he explained, knowing she would catch the pronoun he'd used.

Callie stared at him closely. Had she heard him right? Shaking her head, she asked, "Did you say we?"

"Uhm...yeah. It was my idea to use dragons to solve the problem but I'm young and inexperienced in the ways of dragons so had to ask an elder who was on scene as well. He told me it could be done but left it up to me to decide to do it or not. Frankly, I was terrified about revealing myself but it's my job to protect this city so..." he trailed off and shrugged.

Her mouth dropped open and stared at the nervous Commander. "You're a dragon?" she finally managed to gasp out.

He nodded.

"Oh my! That's...I'm nearly speechless," she nearly stuttered, shaking her head. "You said you're inexperienced...why?" She asked after absorbing what he said and not said.

Rolling his eyes, Feral sighed and gave her the explanation he'd just finished telling his own officers.

"Happily, my officers weren't too upset by my reveal. Instead they were ecstatic. To them it means the Enforcers will win the battle against the omegas with me leading the charge. It will restore their reputation and beat the SWAT Kats. All in all what's not to like, was their thinking. I was greatly relieved as I feared I would be forced out of my job by their fear and unwillingness to work for a dragon," he said smiling.

Callie's eyebrows rose at that statement. Well, he has a right to feel that way. As a dragon his odds are good that he can do what he said, she thought, sighing. She didn't know how the SWAT Kats would take this turn of events but it didn't matter. Their whole world had begun changing the moment dragons burst onto the scene. Maybe it was just as well. This city had its fill of being under siege for so long...it was about time they found peace.

"I must say, the city is changing a lot but only for the better, to my mind. Dragons are welcome and we're grateful for their bravery in coming out of hiding. Especially you. I can't imagine what it felt like revealing yourself to your former enemies like you did but may I say, I'm very proud and pleased that you did," she said, smiling warmly at him.

A shy smile was surprised from him at her comment. "I...thank you, Ms. Briggs. That's the first time you've ever said something nice and supportive to me since I've known you."

"Actually, I've always respected your ability to keep the city safe from the normal criminals, Commander. It was your inability to fight the omegas that had me not so confident in you. However, now that you and your kind have gotten rid of Dark Kat for good and showed great courage in revealing yourself to accomplish it, I feel fully confident that you'll set our city free entirely from the omega menace and keep the peace with ease from now on. That deserves a pat on the back and a good word which I'll make sure the Mayor gives you on your next performance report," she said, smiling. "And don't worry about telling his honor about this exciting news. He's at the golf course anyway, so I have plenty of time to prepare what to say to him and spare you all the drama," she smirked.

He couldn't help grinning back, totally surprised and pleased she was willing to bury the hatchet between them. Gaining back her respect wasn't something he really cared about but it felt nice to get it at last. Knowing she would stand by him now was what counted, making for an easier working relationship between them...a major plus. Pleased by his success here and at headquarters, he prepared to leave.

"By the way, can I see you in your true form?" She asked before he could turn away for the door.

"Uh, if you'd like but we'll have to go to the roof for more room."

"Of course. Lead the way, Commander," Callie said, rising from her seat and letting him lead the way out of her office, down the hall, and upstairs to the rooftop landing pad.

As the wind whipped her long blond hair and tangled it, he walked to the center of the landing pad while she remained near the door and watched with interest. He changed instantly then lowered his head so they were eye to eye.

"Like what you see?" he asked, amusement in his tone.

Callie's eyes had lit up with delight and wonder at his new form and could only grin and nod her head wildly before coming close to him to gently touch his snout, feeling the softness of his scales rather than a rough texture she expected.

"How amazing and handsome you look, Ulysses and your skin is so soft. Your scales gleam like gold and your eyes look like glittering jewels," she said, admiringly.

"You're going to make me blush," he said, self consciously. He knew she wasn't flirting with him, just was very taken with his appearance which he thought was kind of cool.

She laughed. "I'm looking forward to seeing you fly the skies watching over us, as well as your fellow dragons. That's a far better sight than omegas any day."

"Why thank you, Ms. Briggs. Hope the city feels the same about us soon as well. I'd better be off. Have a desk full of work waiting," he said, smiling then backing away so he could launch. Opening his wings, he swept them out and down, kicking off the roof and nearly knocking Callie from her feet as he grabbed air and soared away.

What an amazing sight and how cool is it to have wings and fly like a bird? She sighed enviously, watching him until he became a small spec heading toward the Enforcer building before turning away to return to her own desk full of work.


End file.
